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Single Idea 6896

[filed under theme 20. Action / C. Motives for Action / 5. Action Dilemmas / b. Double Effect ]

Full Idea

The doctrine of double effect is that there is a moral distinction between what is foreseen by an agent as a likely result of an action, and what is intended.

Gist of Idea

Double effect is the distinction between what is foreseen and what is intended

Source

Thomas Mautner (Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy [1996], p.150)

Book Ref

Mautner,Thomas: 'Dictionary of Philosophy' [Penguin 1997], p.150

A Reaction

Abortion for a pregnancy threatening the mother's life. What always intrigues me is the effects which you didn't foresee because you couldn't be bothered to think about them. How much obligation do you have to try to foresee events?

The 14 ideas with the same theme [assessing effects against side effects of an act]:

22384 A 'double effect' is a foreseen but not desired side-effect, which may be forgivable [Foot]
22385 The doctrine of double effect can excuse an outcome because it wasn't directly intended [Foot]
22386 Double effect says foreseeing you will kill someone is not the same as intending it [Foot]
22387 Without double effect, bad men can make us do evil by threatening something worse [Foot]
22388 Double effect seems to rely on a distinction between what we do and what we allow [Foot]
22466 We see a moral distinction between our aims and their foreseen consequences [Foot]
22465 We see a moral distinction between doing and allowing to happen [Foot]
22467 Acts and omissions only matter if they concern doing something versus allowing it [Foot]
23578 Double Effect needs a double intention - to achieve the good, and minimise the evil [Walzer]
4657 Double Effect: no bad acts with good consequences, but possibly good acts despite bad consequences [Glover]
6896 Double effect is the distinction between what is foreseen and what is intended [Mautner]
6897 Double effect acts need goodness, unintended evil, good not caused by evil, and outweighing [Mautner]
7293 It is legitimate to do harm if it is the unintended side-effect of an effort to achieve a good [Grayling]
20068 Describing a death as a side-effect rather than a goal may just be good public relations [Stout,R]