Question

Heinz Dilemma

R‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‍ead the Heinz dilemma and consider what you would do if you were in his place. Post your response and your reasoning for this response. How would your response fit in Kohlberg’s stages? Are there other responses that Kohlberg would consider “more moral”? If so, how do you feel about this? Do you think Kohlberg’s “Heinz dilemma” is a good measure of one’s morality? Explain. Are people fairly accurate when making attributions about why they have experienced difficulties? What about when good things happen? How does our individualistic culture tend to support correspondence bias? Explain. Using an example to support your ideas, explain what has been called the “victim mentality” in terms of attribution. Heinz’s wife was dying from a particul‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‍ar type of cancer. Doctors said a new drug might save her. The drug had been discovered by a local chemist, and the Heinz tried desperately to buy some, but the chemist was charging ten times the money it cost to make the drug, and this was much more than the Heinz could afford. Heinz could only raise half the money, even after help from family and friends. He explained to the chemist that his wife was dying and asked if he could have the drug cheaper or pay the rest of the money later. The chemist refused, saying that he had discovered the drug and was going to make money from it. The husband was desperate to save his wife, so later that night he broke into the chemist’s and stole the drug. Should Heinz have broken into the laboratory to steal the drug for hi‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‍s wife? Why or why not?

Expert Solution

Heinz was right to break into the laboratory and steal the drug; hence I would have done so too. The chemist’s pursuit of extreme monetary gains from the drug was selfish, while Heinz’s actions were selfless, making them more ethical. Additionally, the value of human life is more important than monetary gains; hence the chemist should have considered Heinz’s offer of making future payments for the drug and maybe drafted a contract to ensure the man pays him. This way, there would have been a win-win situation as the man’s wife would have survived, and the chemist would have gotten the required payment. 

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