Meanings
- A thought experiment in ethics, involving a dilemma of whether saving a life justifies theft or other illegal activities.
This study of the Heinz dilemma has led to the literature on the ethics of care. The Heinz dilemma is about a man who considers stealing a drug that he cannot afford to buy in order to save the life of his wife.
2004, Ananta Kumar Giri, Creative Social Research: Rethinking Theories and Methods, Lexington Books, →ISBN, page 93
Origin
In one well-known version of the dilemma, used in Lawrence Kohlberg’s stages of moral development, the dilemma is faced by a character named Heinz.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Heinz dilemma. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Heinz%20dilemma
“Heinz dilemma.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Heinz%20dilemma. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Heinz dilemma,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Heinz%20dilemma.
Source: Heinz dilemma on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.