Kohlberg and the Heinz Dilemma Source: http://ashpsych.wordpress.com. 09/11/2014
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Question
Kohlberg and the Heinz Dilemma
Source: http://ashpsych.wordpress.com. 09/11/2014
The Heinz Dilemma is a very famous dilemma, used by Kohlberg in his work looking at moral development. The Dilemma is as follows:
A woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to produce. He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman’s husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about $1,000 which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said: “No, I discovered the drug and I’m going to make money from it.” So Heinz got desperate and broke into the man’s store to steal the drug for his wife.
Should Heinz have broken into the store to steal the drug for his wife? Why or why not?
Explanation / Answer
The famous Heinz dilemma used by Kohlberg as an example to moral development is a classical one. In my opinion, what Heinz did was right because he was trying to save his wife, besides the shop owner was selling it for a 10 times more profit than his purchase price. No one would like to see their loved ones suffer and die. What we see in Heinz action is his selfless love for his wife and he stole only to save his wife which was his moral right. Unlike the shopkeeper, he didn’t steal for his luxury or living life lavishly but to save a life. In my opinion saving a life should be given credit and what he did shouldn’t be considered as stealing but a sacrifice.
One of the threats this world faces today is the unethical business that creates unjust wealth distribution which has already caused more violence because the rich become rich through their unethical business that robs the poor of their resources and labor and the poor for their survival break their moral bindings. This is only a reaction and not an action that the poor initiate.
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