The Principle of Double Effect
Not every human action has only good effects or bad effects.
Determining permissibility of actions that have both good and evil effects
The action must be good in itself or at least indifferent
An intrinsically evil act is never permissible even if it has a good effect.
The agent must have the right intention
The good effect must be directly intended
The evil effect, although foreseen, must not be intended – only permitted
or tolerated
The evil effect cannot be the means to the good effect
The good effect must be the direct result of the action taken.
The end does not justify the means
The good effect must balance the evil effect
There must be a proportional reason for acting. (The good effect must
equal or exceed the evil effect.)
The objectivity of good and evil
Modern secular ethics has undergone a denial of the reality of morally good and
evil
Many see good and evil as corresponding to different circumstances of an
individual, thus susceptible to change
Attitudes that an action is good or evil in a particular circumstance and/or for a
particular person.
Moral categories of good and evil become variables.
This train of thought leads to a moral relativism (morality changes with each new
situation) that destroys any correct ethical system, since it denies any moral divisions of
acts into good and evil. This ethics is called “moral relativism”, where good and evil are
relative terms.
(Veritatis Splendor N.33)
The historical argument for moral objectivity
A thing is not changed by changing the circumstances
Blasphemy done by a believer or an unbeliever is still blasphemy
Charity done by a Christian or an unbeliever is still charity
Some acts have transcended time and are seen as heroic
Love of an enemy exemplified by the saints
Some acts have been considered evil from the beginning of tome
Injustice, slander, homicide
Some errors derived from ethical relativism
Situation ethics
The act cannot be judged alone, but only on its circumstances
Claims that moral conduct cannot be guided by universal principles, but
must be guided by the concrete circumstances in which each person finds
himself.
Consequentialism
Moral concepts of good and evil derive from the consequences that follow
an act, not from the objectivity of the law that determines them.
An act is good if goodness results from the act, and evil if evil results from
the action
Two types of ethics
Ethics of Responsibility
One who keeps in mind the consequences of his actions
Social Ethics
One who is guided by his conscience
The error is in arguing that there are situations in which consequences
could justify acts that are evil in themselves.
The two types of ethic were thought to be incompatible
Truth
We do act responsibly when we follow a correct (formed)
conscience.
Three errors in consequentialism
The effects of an action are overvalued
It justifies the morality of means, regardless of their nature, and
violates the basic moral principle that “The end does not justify the
means.”
Creates the possibility of “personal” ethics. What is good for me,
but not good for another person or society as a whole is OK.
Use immoral means or seek immediate personal gain, and,
in the end become egotistical.
Proportionalism
If the evil that follows an act is less in proportion to the good, the act is good.
This method trivializes the importance of morality.
The Catholic Church has rejected these errors in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
It is therefore an error to judge the morality of human acts by considering only the
intention that inspires them or the circumstances (environment, social pressure, duress
or emergency, etc) which supply their context. There are acts which, in and of
themselves, independently of circumstances and intentions, are always gravely illicit by
reason of their object; such as blasphemy and perjury, murder and adultery. One may
not do evil so that good may result from it. (CCC, 1756)
Morality cannot be reduced to a mathematical formula. Remember our discussion about
venial and mortal sins? All our actions should be made with the aim of attaining eternal
life with the Father. If we let that be the aim of our actions, we will act in a moral
manner.