Ethics Topics: Moral Dilemmas

Ethics is the most frequently tested topic area in LNAT Section B. Questions in this category ask you to grapple with moral dilemmas — situations where competing values or principles pull in different directions. To write a strong essay on an ethics topic, you need to understand the major ethical frameworks, know how to argue both sides of a dilemma, and have concrete examples ready to deploy.

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The Three Major Ethical Frameworks

Every ethics essay benefits from awareness of these three broad approaches to moral reasoning. You do not need to name them explicitly in your essay, but understanding them will make your arguments sharper and more structured.

Framework	Core Principle	Typical Argument
Consequentialism (Utilitarianism)	The right action is the one that produces the best overall outcome	"Euthanasia should be permitted because it reduces suffering for both the patient and their family"
Deontology (Rights-Based)	Some actions are inherently right or wrong, regardless of consequences	"Euthanasia is wrong because it violates the sanctity of human life"
Virtue Ethics	The right action is what a virtuous person would do in the circumstances	"A compassionate society would allow euthanasia; a society that values life would not — the question is which virtue takes priority"

These frameworks frequently conflict, which is precisely what makes ethics questions debatable. A strong essay acknowledges this tension.

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Major Ethics Topics and How to Argue Both Sides

1. Euthanasia and Assisted Dying

The question: Should people have the right to choose when and how they die?

In Favour	Against
Autonomy: individuals should control their own bodies and lives	Sanctity of life: no one should deliberately end a human life
Compassion: prolonged suffering is cruel when death is inevitable	Slippery slope: legalisation could lead to pressure on the elderly or disabled
Already happens: doctors already make end-of-life decisions (e.g., withdrawing treatment) — legalisation provides safeguards	Medical ethics: the Hippocratic tradition requires doctors to "do no harm"
International evidence: countries like the Netherlands and Belgium have functioning systems with safeguards	Diagnosis uncertainty: prognoses can be wrong; patients may have more time than predicted

Key example: The Dignitas clinic in Switzerland; the Assisted Dying Act debates in the UK Parliament; Oregon's Death with Dignity Act.

Essay Tip: The strongest essays on euthanasia distinguish between different types — voluntary euthanasia, assisted suicide, and non-voluntary euthanasia — because the moral arguments differ significantly for each.

2. Capital Punishment

The question: Is the death penalty ever justified?

In Favour	Against
Justice: some crimes are so heinous that only death is proportionate	Irreversibility: wrongful executions cannot be undone
Deterrence: the threat of execution may deter the most serious crimes	Evidence: most studies find no significant deterrent effect
Protection: permanently prevents reoffending	Inequality: the death penalty is disproportionately applied to minorities and the poor
Victims' families: may feel that justice requires the ultimate punishment	State power: giving the state the power to kill citizens is inherently dangerous

Key example: The US experience (wrongful convictions revealed by the Innocence Project); abolition across Europe; the case of Derek Bentley in the UK.

3. Animal Rights

The question: Do animals have moral rights, and if so, what are the implications?

In Favour of Animal Rights	Against Extensive Animal Rights
Sentience: animals feel pain; causing unnecessary suffering is morally wrong	Moral agency: rights are linked to moral responsibility, which animals lack
Consistency: if we protect human infants who cannot reason, why not animals?	Human welfare: medical research on animals saves human lives
Environmental: intensive farming causes environmental destruction	Cultural: meat consumption is deeply embedded in human cultures
Alternatives exist: plant-based diets and non-animal research methods are increasingly viable	Degree: there is a moral difference between a chimpanzee and an insect

Key example: Peter Singer's Animal Liberation; the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness (2012); the ban on cosmetics testing on animals in the EU.

4. Genetic Engineering and Human Enhancement

The question: Should genetic modification of humans be permitted?