The conditions of the principle of double effect are the following [2]:
- The act-in-itself cannot be morally wrong or intrinsically evil [3].
- The bad effect cannot cause the good effect.
- The agent cannot intend the bad effect.
- The bad effect cannot outweigh the good effect; there is a proportionate reason to tolerate the bad effect.
What is double effect in law?
Double Effect is silent about cases in which it is permissible to cause a death as a means to a good end. Warren Quinn has argued that double effect does not rest on the distinction between intended and merely foreseen harm, but instead is best formulated using a distinction between direct and indirect agency (see the Formulations section).
Does the principle of double effect apply to moral significance?
If the permissibility of an action depended only on the consequences of the action, or only on the foreseen or foreseeable consequences of the action, then the distinction that grounds the principle of double effect would not have the moral significance claimed for it (see the related entry on consequentialism ).
What conditions must be satisfied for double effect to apply?
Proponents of the principle of double effect have always acknowledged that a proportionality condition must be satisfied when double effect is applied, but this condition typically requires only that the good effect outweigh the foreseen bad effect or that there be sufficient reason for causing the bad effect.
What is the principle of double effect and proportionate reason?
avows that proportionate reason and the principle of double effect are a sensitive moral discernment that strives to honor the complexity of difficult moral situations. These actions would be indefensible under the principle of double effect (ibid 202-203).
What is an example of double effect?
In cases when saving the life of a pregnant woman causes the death of her unborn child - for example, performing an abortion when continuing the pregnancy would risk killing the mother - some people argue that this is a case of the doctrine of double effect.
What is the principle of double effect Catholic?
Traditional Roman Catholic moral theology has enshrined this distinction in the Principle of Double Effect, which allows good or indifferent actions to be performed in pursuit of a good end, although evil consequences will follow, provided due proportion between the good sought and the evil accepted is observed.
What is the double effect in psychology?
The doctrine of double effect is a moral principle that distinguishes between harm we cause as a means to an end and harm that we cause as a side-effect. As a purely descriptive matter, it is well established that it describes a consistent feature of human moral judgment.
What is the principle of double effect in nursing?
“The principle of double effect provides justification in which the process is based on the intended outcome of pain and symptom relief and the proportionality of benefit and harm. The intent of palliative sedation is to relieve suffering in dying patients but not to deliberately hasten death.
What is double effect in Christianity?
This doctrine says that if doing something morally good has a morally bad side-effect it's ethically OK to do it providing the bad side-effect wasn't intended.
Who created the doctrine of double effect?
St. Thomas AquinasThe history of the principle of double effect dates at least as far back as the work of St. Thomas Aquinas. Although St. Thomas did not use the term "double effect" or refer to the principle, he used the concept in justifying killing in self-defense [1].
What is the principle of double effect quizlet?
What is the Doctrine of Double Effect? The doctrine (or principle) of double effect is often invoked to explain the permissibility of an action that causes a serious harm, such as the death of a human being, as a side effect of promoting some good end.
What is double effect in medical ethics?
The doctrine of double effect states that a harmful effect of treatment, even resulting in death, is permissible if it is not intended and occurs as a side effect of a beneficial action.
What is double standard and double effect?
It is often used to describe treatment whereby one group is given more latitude than another. A double standard arises when two or more people, groups, organizations, circumstances, or events are treated differently even though they should be treated the same way.
What is double effect principle in palliative care?
The principle of double effect is a rule of conduct frequently used to determine when a person may lawfully and ethically perform an action from which two effects will follow, one bad, and the other good.
What is double effect in end of life?
The doctrine of double effect is used to justify actions that have intended “good” effects and unintended “bad” effects. In medicine, it is predominantly applied to justify the use of analgesia and sedation at the end of life, when medical interventions are feared to potentially hasten death.
How does the doctrine of double effect apply to euthanasia?
The principle of double effect does not allow foreseen and unwanted adverse effects of an action to occur when they are avoidable. In terminal sedation, an example for indirect euthanasia, hypoxemia and dehydration can easily be prevented by respirator therapy and fluid administration.
What are the weaknesses of the RDE?
Critics of the RDE have pointed to several weaknesses, including, most prominently, its reliance on intention to determine whether an act is right or wrong. Intentions, these critics charge, are too difficult to determine. It has also been argued that the RDE is not sufficiently grounded in a more general ethical theory.
What is the RDE in conflict resolution?
One may employ the RDE in trying to resolve such conflicts provided that: the situation is one in which at least two effects are foreseen, one of which, if intended, is morally good and the other morally bad; all other attempts to secure the good effect without risking the bad have been exhausted;
What is the RDE in philosophy?
The formulation of the rule of double effect (RDE) and its application have been heavily debated in philosophy, theology, and bioethics throughout the last 50 years. We argue that much of this controversy results from a history of misunderstanding or misapplication of the RDE. In this paper, we offer a reformulation of the RDE that establishes the preconditions that need to be met for the RDE to be appropriately applied. We also defend the importance of evaluating intention in making moral judgments and clarify the distinction between intention and foresight necessary for grounding the RDE. We then offer examples where the RDE may be applied to ethically evaluate clinical practices and health policy initiatives.
Can the RDE be applied to the good and bad effects?
all other attempts to secure the good effect without risking the bad have been exhausted; the good and bad effects at issue would result directly from an act of the agent, not from the cooperation of another person acting as an intervening or secondary agent. If these preconditions are met, then the RDE can be applied.
What is the principle of double effect?
The principle of double effect – also known as the rule of double effect; the doctrine of double effect, often abbreviated as DDE or PDE, double-effect reasoning; or simply double effect – is a set of ethical criteria which Christian philosophers , and some others , have advocated for evaluating the permissibility ...
What is double effect?
The principle of double effect – also known as the rule of double effect; the doctrine of double effect, often abbreviated as DDE or PDE, double-effect reasoning; or simply double effect – is a set of ethical criteria which Christian philosophers, and some others, have advocated for evaluating the permissibility of acting when one's otherwise legitimate act (for example, relieving a terminally ill patient's pain) may also cause an effect one would otherwise be obliged to avoid (sedation and a slightly shortened life). The first known example of double-effect reasoning is Thomas Aquinas ' treatment of homicidal self-defense, in his work Summa Theologica.
Why is double effect criticized?
Because advocates of double effect propose that consequentially similar acts can be morally different, double effect is most often criticized by consequentialists who consider the consequences of actions entirely determinative of the action's morality.
What is double effect reasoning?
This set of criteria states that an action having foreseen harmful effects practically inseparable from the good effect is justifiable if the following are true:
Does the agent intend the good or the bad effect?
the agent intends the good effect and does not intend the bad effect either as a means to the good or as an end in itself; the good effect outweighs the bad effect in circumstances sufficiently grave to justify causing the bad effect and the agent exercises due diligence to minimize the harm.
What is the doctrine of double effect?
The doctrine (or principle) of double effect is often invoked to explain the permissibility of an action that causes a serious harm, such as the death of a human being, as a side effect of promoting some good end. According to the principle of double effect, sometimes it is permissible to cause a harm as a side effect ...
Who introduced the principle of double effect?
Thomas Aquinas is credited with introducing the principle of double effect in his discussion of the permissibility of self-defense in the Summa Theologica (II-II, Qu. 64, Art.7). Killing one’s assailant is justified, he argues, provided one does not intend to kill him.
What is the misinterpretation of the principle of double effect?
First, it is a misinterpretation to claim that the principle of double effect shows that agents may permissibly bring about harmful effects provided that they are merely foreseen side effects of promoting a good end.
What is double effect in medical care?
The principle of double effect is often mentioned in discussions of what is known as palliative care, medical care for patients with terminal illness in need of pain relief. Three assumptions often operate in the background of these discussions:
What does "good effect and not the evil effect be intended" mean?
that the action in itself from its very object be good or at least indifferent; that the good effect and not the evil effect be intended; that the good effect be not produced by means of the evil effect; that there be a proportionately grave reason for permitting the evil effect” (1949, p. 43).
How does the good effect flow?
The good effect must flow from the action at least as immediately (in the order of causality, though not necessarily in the order of time) as the bad effect. In other words the good effect must be produced directly by the action, not by the bad effect.
Can double effect be explained by principle?
It is not at all clear that all of the examples that double effect has been invoked to justify can be explained by a single principle. There may in fact be a variety of considerations that bear on the permissibility of causing unintended harm.
Why Intention Matters
What Intention Is Not
Intention as Distinguished from Foresight
Reformulation of The Rule of Double Effect
Clinical Ethics and Public Health Policy
Conclusion
Endnotes
Overview
Intentional harm vis-à-vis side effects
Medicine
- In other literature, the rule of double effect has been discussed as a principle or a doctrine. Here it is described as a rule to underline its flexibility. Sulmasy, Daniel P. “‘Reinventing’ the Rule of Double Effect.” in The Oxford Handbook of Bioethics, edited by Bonnie Steinbock, 116 (Oxford University Press, 2007). https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfor...
Criticisms
The principle of double effect – also known as the rule of double effect; the doctrine of double effect, often abbreviated as DDE or PDE, double-effect reasoning; or simply double effect – is a set of ethical criteria which Christian philosophers, and some others, have advocated for evaluating the permissibility of acting when one's otherwise legitimate act may also cause an effect one w…
See also
External links
Formulations of The Principle of Double Effect
Applications
Misinterpretations
Criticisms
- Thomas Aquinas is credited with introducing the principle of doubleeffect in his discussion of the permissibility of self-defense in theSumma Theologica(II-II, Qu. 64, Art.7). Killing one’sassailant is justified, he argues, provided one does not intend tokill him. In contrast, Augustine had earlier maintained that killingin self-defense was not per...
One Principle Or Many Loosely Related Exceptions?
End of Life Decision-Making