A Cornelian dilemma (''dilemme cornélien'') (also spelt in translation with two "l"'s i.e. "Corneillian") is a

dilemma A dilemma ( grc-gre, δίλημμα "double proposition") is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. The possibilities are termed the ''horns'' of the dilemma, a clichéd usage, but dist ...

in which someone is obliged to choose one option from a range of options all of which reveals a detrimental effect on themselves or someone near them. In classical drama, it will typically involve the character experiencing an inner conflict, forcing them to choose between

love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...

and

honour Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

inclination Orbital inclination measures the tilt of an object's orbit around a celestial body. It is expressed as the angle between a reference plane and the orbital plane or axis of direction of the orbiting object. For a satellite orbiting the Eart ...

and duty. The dilemma is named after French dramatist Pierre Corneille, in whose play ''

Le Cid ''Le Cid'' is a five-act French tragicomedy written by Pierre Corneille, first performed in December 1636 at the Théâtre du Marais in Paris and published the same year. It is based on Guillén de Castro's play ''Las Mocedades del Cid''. Castro ...

'' (

1636 Events January–March * January 1 – Anthony van Diemen takes office as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), and will serve until his death in 1645. * January 18 – ''The Duke's Mistress'', the last ...

) the protagonist, Rodrigue, is torn between two desires: that of the love of Chimène, or avenging his family, who has been wronged by Chimène's father. Rodrigue either seeks revenge to avenge his lover or lose the honour.

Examples

*In "

Latent Image {{citations needed, date=November 2015 A latent image is an invisible image produced by the exposure to light of a photosensitive material such as photographic film. When photographic film is developed, the area that was exposed darkens and form ...

", the doctor experiences crippling guilt after having

ethical dilemma In philosophy, ethical dilemmas, also called ethical paradoxes or moral dilemmas, are situations in which an agent stands under two (or more) ''conflicting moral requirements'', none of which ''overrides'' the other. A closely related definition c ...

of making an arbitrary choice between leaving two survivors. The situation is not used for the

triage In medicine, triage () is a practice invoked when acute care cannot be provided for lack of resources. The process rations care towards those who are most in need of immediate care, and who benefit most from it. More generally it refers to prio ...

program. *In " The Perfect Mate", Kamala the Metamorph learns the meaning of duty from Picard and fulfills it. *In ''

Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the e ...

'', Niko Bellic chooses to kill either Roman or Kate McReary.

References

"Hobbes or Corneille?"
Concepts in ethics Theatre Dilemmas Pierre Corneille

Examples

See also

References