Aquinas Double Effect Analysis

Aquinas double-effect reasoning comes as moral questions treating the moral topics with nature of human action, action, virtues, vices, sins, grace and faith surrounding the analysis of self-defense in order of judging human action. Peter Knauer looks at double effect as the basis for every moral judgment. When you have a proportional reason for doing what you are doing then what might appear to be a direct killing because of the proportionate reason it becomes an indirect killing. Or what appears to be moral evil, if you have a proportionate reason for doing what your doing then it becomes a physical evil. Death row is an example of direct killing. Knauer would say that if the government has a proportionate reason for doing what it’s doing then it becomes an indirect killing. Most people would look at the death penalty as a direct killing and not an indirect killing. Double effect reasoning is central for knauer, it brings justification to any act as long as double effect reasoning is applied justifying a premoral evil. Aquinas speaks of intending ends, Gury of positing causes. Intentionality …show more content…
We maintain that there are kinds of actions, which can be labeled good acts or bad acts not saying anymore than that I have a concrete intention, in a concrete circumstance for a concrete reason, but the first moral determinant is the key to Catholic morality since it is intrinsic to the action. Whereas the circumstances that surround it are extrinsic to the action. In large part these are difficult applications, but applying them with some common sense will helps us avoid two extremes, one being not paying attention to consequences as long as I have a nice intention and the other extreme that I can not have anything to do with anything that results in evil in any