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20. Action / C. Motives for Action / 5. Action Dilemmas / b. Double Effect

[assessing effects against side effects of an act]

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