Principle of double effect - wikipedia Principle of double effect Part of a series on Thomas Aquinas Thomism Scholasticism Apophatic theology Divine simplicity Quinque viae Beatific vision Actus purus Sacraments Correspondence theory Hylomorphism Substance theory ( ousia ) Substantial form Quiddity ( essence / accident nature ) Peripatetic axiom Principle of double effect Cardinal / Theological / Intellectual virtues Natural law Determinatio Just war Just price Concupiscence Analytical Thomism Works Summa Theologica Treatise on Law Summa contra Gentiles Contra Errores Graecorum Commentaries on Aristotle People Aristotle St. Paul Pseudo-Dionysius St. Augustine St. Boethius Avicenna Peter Lombard Averroes Maimonides St. Albertus Magnus Reginald of Piperno Related topics Pange Lingua Aristotelianism Dominican Order School of Salamanca Catholic theology Doctor of the Church Empiricism Neo-Thomism Æterni Patris Catholicism portal Philosophy portal Part of a series of articles on Abortion and the Catholic Church Official opposition Canon 915 Eucharist denial or excommunication Canon 1398 Evangelium vitae Humanae vitae In politics Philosophy and theology Consistent life ethic Culture of life Sanctity of life Ensoulment Double effect Indirect abortion History Gianna Beretta Molla Margaret McBride excommunication 2009 Brazilian girl abortion case Death of Savita Halappanavar Activism March for Life Life and Family Paris Prague Chicago Washington, D.C. West Coast Priests for Life Sisters of Life Knights of Columbus Catholic Answers CatholicVote.org American Life League Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute National Right to Life Committee Dissidence Catholics for Choice A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion See also WikiBook : Catholic Church and abortion Other Christian views In the United States Abortion Abortion law Catholicism portal 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. 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 : the nature of the act is itself good, or at least morally neutral ; 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. Contents 1 Intentional harm versus side effects 2 Examples 2.1 Medicine 3 Criticisms 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Intentional harm versus side effects The principle of double effect is based on the idea that there is a morally relevant difference between an `` intended '' consequence of an act and one that is foreseen by the actor but not calculated to achieve his motive. So, for example, the principle is invoked to consider the terror bombing of non-combatants having as its goal victory in a legitimate war morally out of bounds, while holding as ethically in bounds an act of strategic bombing that similarly harms non-combatants with foresight as a side effect of destroying a legitimate military target. 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. In their use of the distinction between intent and foresight without intent, advocates of double effect make three arguments. First, that intent differs from foresight, even in cases in which one foresees an effect as inevitable. Second, that one can apply the distinction to specific sets of cases found in military ethics ( terror bombing / strategic bombing ), medical ethics ( craniotomy / hysterectomy ), and social ethics ( euthanasia ). Third, that the distinction has moral relevance, importance, or significance. The doctrine consists of four conditions that must be satisfied before an act is morally permissible : The nature - of - the - act condition. The action must be either morally good or indifferent. The means - end condition. The bad effect must not be the means by which one achieves the good effect. The right - intention condition. The intention must be the achieving of only the good effect, with the bad effect being only an unintended side effect. The proportionality condition. The bad effect must not be disproportionate to the good effect. The second of these four conditions is an application of the more general principle that good ends do not justify evil means. Examples Medicine The principle of double effect is frequently cited in cases of pregnancy and abortion. A doctor who believes abortion is always morally wrong may still remove the uterus or fallopian tubes of a pregnant woman, knowing the procedure will cause the death of the embryo or fetus, in cases in which the woman is certain to die without the procedure ( examples cited include aggressive uterine cancer and ectopic pregnancy ). In these cases, the intended effect is to save the woman 's life, not to terminate the pregnancy, and the effect of not performing the procedure would result in the greater evil of the death of both the mother and the fetus. In cases of terminally ill patients who would hasten their deaths because of unbearable pain, or whose caregivers would do so for them ( euthanasia, medical aid in dying, etc. ), a principle of `` double effect death '' could be applied to justify the deliberate administration of a pain - killer in potentially unsafe doses -- not in an attempt to end life but the pain suffered is considered harmful to the patient. The U.S. Supreme Court has voiced support for this principle in its deliberations over the constitutionality of medical aid in dying. Criticisms Consequentialists, in particular, reject the notion that two acts can differ in their moral permissibility if both have exactly the same consequences, or expected consequences. John Stuart Mill, a nineteenth - century advocate of the utilitarian version of consequentialism, argues that it is a mistake to confuse the standards for right action with a consideration of our motives to perform a right action : `` He who saves a fellow creature from drowning does what is morally right, whether his motive be duty, or the hope of being paid for his trouble ; he who betrays the friend that trusts him, is guilty of a crime, even if his object be to serve another friend to whom he is under greater obligations. '' According to Mill, scrutiny of motives will show that almost all good behavior proceeds from questionable intentions. Therefore, Mill argues, our moral analysis should ignore matters of motivation, and so we should reject DDE, which appeals to a distinction between intended and unintended consequences. Mill further claims that scrutiny of motives will reveal a man 's character, but utilitarianism does not judge character, only the rightness or wrongness of actions. See also Trolley problem -- a moral dilemma exploring the principle of double effect Competing harms and necessity -- similar theories in civil law Lesser of two evils principle References Jump up ^ Summa Theologiae, IIa - IIae Q. 64, art. 7 Jump up ^ T.A. Cavanaugh, Double - Effect Reasoning : Doing Good and Avoiding Evil, p. 36, Oxford : Clarendon Press Jump up ^ Mark Timmons, Moral Theory : An Introduction ( Rowman & Littlefield 2003 ISBN 978 - 0 - 8476 - 9768 - 7 ), p. 80 Jump up ^ McIntyre, Alison. `` Doctrine of Double Effect ''. In Edward N. Zalta. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ( Summer 2006 ed. ). Retrieved 2007 - 08 - 18. Jump up ^ `` Principle of Double Effect ''. Catholics United for the Faith. 2003. Retrieved 2007 - 08 - 18. Jump up ^ Delgado, George. `` Pro-Life Open Forum, Apr 10, 2013 ( 49min40s ) ''. Catholic answers. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2014. Jump up ^ Vacco v. Quill and Washington v. Glucksberg, both in 1997. See : Tucker, Kathryn E., `` Legal Advocacy to Improved Care and Expand Options at the End of Life, '' in Physician - Assisted Dying : The Case for Palliative Care & Patient Choice, edited by T.E. Quill and M.P. Battin ( Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004 ). The Court made it clear that a `` medical death '' hastened by palliative measures was permissible. Jump up ^ John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism ( London : Parker, Son and Bourn, 1863 ), page 26. External links Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry PhilPapers Bibliography : ' Doctrine of Double Effect ' Works by Thomas Aquinas Books Contra Errores Graecorum Summa Theologica Quinque viae Treatise on Law Summa contra Gentiles Hymns and prayers Adoro te devote Creator ineffabilis Lauda Sion O Sacrum Convivium Pange Lingua Gloriosi Corporis Mysterium Sacris solemniis Verbum Supernum Prodiens Thought Actus Essendi Homo unius libri Principle of double effect View on the Sacraments Catholicism portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Principle_of_double_effect&oldid=814559611 '' Categories : Bioethics Thomism Ethical principles Catholic Church and abortion Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Eesti Español Français Bahasa Indonesia Lietuvių Polski Português Edit links This page was last edited on 9 December 2017, at 15 : 12. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. 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Question: who came up with the principle of double effect
Answer: Thomas Aquinas