Practicing ethical dilemmas is an excellent method of enhancing your argument and critical thinking for the LNAT essay section. The situations force you to balance competing values, look at different viewpoints, and justify your position with short rational arguments. By analyzing such dilemmas, you can fine-tune your arguments and hone the analysis you will need in an LNAT essay. The following are ten thought-provoking ethical dilemmas that you can try an LNAT essay on:
1. Should vaccines be made compulsory by the government, even at the expense of restricting freedom of choice?
This is a conflict between common good and personal freedom. On one hand, mandatory vaccination can protect against deadly epidemics and prevent vulnerable groups that cannot be vaccinated due to illness. On another hand, these mandates can be perceived as too large of a government hand, invading personal belief and body autonomy. Consider whether common good should take precedence over individual rights, and in what situations.
2. Is animal testing for medical research ethically justified?
Animal testing has resulted in significant medical advancement, but is problematic in regards to animal welfare and distress. Its proponents hold that the possibility of saving human lives would make it acceptable, particularly where other alternatives are not possible. Its detractors hold that subjecting animals to distress for human gain is unacceptable, particularly with alternative research existing. Discuss whether or not the ends do justify the means, and whether or not some limit should be imposed.
3. Should students be punished for attending demonstrations during school time?
This quandary asks you to balance the cost of political participation with the value of learning commitments. It will discourage political participation and infringe on students' right of peaceful protest to punish them, but accepting absences will interfere with instruction and create a precedent for truancy from school. Balance schools' charge to foster responsible citizenship against schools' charge to offer learning.
4. Is it appropriate to use private information collected on the internet for targeted advertising?
Websites tend to employ personal information in order to present directed commercials, and privacy, consent, and manipulation issues arise. While targeted advertisement supporters claim it facilitates enhanced user experience as well as free online content, critics are worried about data misuse, transparency, and the lack of privacy. Reflect upon whether or not consent can be truly informed and what role tech companies play in safeguarding users.
5. Should euthanasia be legalized for terminally ill patients?
Assisted dying, or euthanasia, is a controversial issue involving the right to die with dignity against the sanctity of life. Those who support it think that terminally ill patients should be granted autonomy over their end-of-life care, especially to avoid prolonged suffering. Those opposed are worried about potential abuses, slippery slopes, and coercions against vulnerable individuals. Describe whether or not legal safeguards can manage these concerns effectively and what role compassion should have in legislation.
6. Is it ever morally acceptable to wage war on moral grounds?
War is inevitably destructive, yet some argue that it is sometimes necessary to prevent additional harm, to protect oneself from attack, or to stop atrocities. The theory of just war provides criteria for morally fighting a war, but doubters are dubious that any war can meet these standards. Discuss whether war might be morally defensible, and if so, under what conditions?
7. Should people be forced to vote in elections?
Forcing people to vote will, it is argued, boost democratic turnout and have governments more accurately represent the will of the people. But it will also challenge the values of free choice and whether forcing people to vote devalues the democratic process. Ask yourself whether the advantages of increased turnout are counterbalanced by the likely negative consequences and whether not voting can be considered a valid political message in itself?
8. Is rewarding children for good grades an ethical practice?
Payoff of academic success with money can stimulate some students but also potentially diverts intrinsic motivation and generates inequalities. Proponents argue that it rewards effort and responsibility, but opponents argue that it turns education into a commodity and can penalize the less capable. Discuss long-term effects on learning, motivation, and equity.
9. Should the very rich be required to redistribute some of their wealth to balance inequality?
This paradox considers the morality of accumulating wealth and giving to society. Although some feel that the extremely rich have a moral obligation to assist in narrowing the disparities, either through taxation by coercion or voluntary giving, others feel that people need to be able to allocate their capital as they wish and that coercion from above will deter innovation and enterprise. Discuss the balance between individual freedom and the public good.
10. Is lying ever justified to spare someone's feelings or to avoid hurting someone?
Lying for a good reason is an old cliche. Honesty is not always the best policy, and may sometimes be detrimental or even dangerous. Consider whether you can justify the ends justify the means of lying; you should think about that and the consequences of honesty versus dishonesty in certain cases. You can reflect whether lying is ethically acceptable in certain situations, like protecting someone from danger, and think about what that type of decision may do to trust and the people in relationships.
These dilemmas are excellent for practicing LNAT essays. In each case, try to sketch both sides out and think about possible legal and ethical principles to consider, as well as formulating a clear argument and evidence. The more you practice the better you will get at doing critical thinking in a short period of time, and being able to articulate a nuanced position, a skill that you will need not only in the LNAT but also for legal and ethical reasoning in practice.
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