Q. What is the principle of “double effect”?
A. The fundamental principle of all Christian morality is “do good, avoid evil.”
Everything else applies this: we help the poor, worship God, listen to music, eat food, even fast, because these things are good in some way. We avoid murder, injustice, gluttony, etc., because these things are evil.
The principle of double effect is how we figure out whether an action is good or evil when it has both good and evil consequences. Can I buy from a company that financially supports abortion? Can I bomb an enemy military target that’s right next to a school or church? These are the kinds of very real questions that this principle deals with.
It’s not enough to just “weigh up” all the good and bad elements on an imaginary scale of justice! Rather, we have to thoroughly analyze several different elements of what’s happening to ensure that good is done, and evil is avoided.
First, we have to look at what it is that we are doing (moral theologians call this the “object”). If it’s evil, it doesn’t matter what kinds of consequences happen because of it, or why we want to do it, it’s just bad, because we’d be doing evil if we did it.
Second, we have to look at why we’re doing it; what our intention is. Sometimes our intentions are good: we want to help someone or have fun, for example. Other times, our intentions are bad.
Third, we have to look at the other circumstances. Sometimes, something that would normally be good becomes bad because of other circumstances. You shouldn’t get a medical exam in the middle of Times Square, for example, because there’s thousands of people around!
The principle of double effect only applies when a good action, with a good intention, and otherwise good circumstances, has a mix of consequences, some good, and some bad. First, we check to make sure that we aren’t using the bad consequences as a way to get to the good consequences … if we do that, they’re not really consequences anymore, but part of a bad intention.
Then, and only then, we weigh the consequences. I want to drive my car (good action) so that I can get groceries (good intention, good consequence) on a normal day (good circumstances) but I also know that this will cause pollution (bad consequence). Which “weighs” more: the goodness of getting my groceries conveniently, or the bad consequences of causing pollution? If the good consequence outweighs the bad consequences, that’s the principle of double effect at work.
I’m not an engineer. But my parents both are, as are my sister and most of my mother’s relatives. Engineers love algorithms: logical instructions that are used to solve the problem. Just for good measure, let’s talk through the use of the principle of double effect as an algorithm, a set of steps that you can follow to use it properly. If you are trying to decide whether or not an action is good or bad:
Step 1: Is what I’m doing simply a bad thing to do, an evil “object” (killing an innocent, adultery, etc.)? If the answer is yes, STOP. This is already an evil action. No need for double effect, or for any other steps, for that matter.
Step 2: Are my intentions evil, including any intended consequences and any other consequences that I might be planning to use to help me get what I want? If the answer is yes, STOP. This is already an evil action. No need for double effect, or for any other steps, for that matter.
Step 3: Are there any other circumstances, besides unintended consequences, that would make this otherwise bad? If the answer is yes, STOP. This is already an evil action. No need for double effect, or any other steps, for that matter.
Step 4: Are there a mix of good and evil consequences? If the answer is no, STOP. If there are no evil consequences, there is no need for double effect.
Step 5: Do the good consequences outweigh the evil consequences? If the answer is yes, then the principle of double effect applies, and the action is good. If the answer is no, then, according to the principle of double effect, the action is still evil.
Please keep in mind: Step 5 (weighing the consequences) is not always easy! If a police chief shortens shifts so that the policemen can spend more time with their families, but then drug usage goes up, was it worth it? If you walk to the store, is the pollution you didn’t cause worth your lost time? These are the real million-dollar moral questions, the ones you probably won’t be seeing answers to in Ask the Register.
This question was answered by Father Evan Winter, pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Minden and Holy Family in Heartwell.
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