What would be an example of the dilemma between integrity and loyalty?

Answer 1

Perhaps the best example of integrity is simply keeping one's word. One has integrity when one keeps one's promises; a broken promise demonstrates a lack of integrity. Loyalty is wholehearted devotion to a specific object such as one's father or one's country. An ethical dilemma arises here whenever there is a conflict between two potential opposing courses of action in which one is stimulated by integrity and the other by loyalty. In other words, being loyal is the prima facie justification for action A, and keeping one's word is the prima facie justification for action B, which is in conflict with action A. For example, suppose that a youngster is loyal to his parents. Also suppose that he joins a club of his peers and, as a requirement for membership, he promises to do whatever is asked of him. That immediately sets up a potential ethical dilemma. Suppose that his friends ask him to steal some liquor from his parents' home. If he doesn't steal it, he'll have broken his promise to his friends. If he does steal it, he'll have been disloyal to his parents. That's a simple example, but it demonstrates a general lesson: whenever we attach ourselves to more than one moral ideal, there is always the potential for conflict, for an ethical dilemma to occur.