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Double Effect Theory

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The doctrine of double effect states that in certain situations, ceteris paribus, it’s permissible to perform any good action, even if it comes with a lethal consequence, as long as one does not directly intend the unfortunate outcome. In other words, to carry out a wrong action for the purpose of achieving a good effect is never permissible, but foreseeing an unavoidable harm as the necessary byproduct of your right action is permissible. With this moral theory your action produces two effects: the one aimed at, and the one effect foreseen but may not have been intended. One must be able to tell the difference between oblique intention and direct intention when assessing a moral dilemma. For example, in this case of the man Smith who is abducted …show more content…

For example, the Doctrine of Double Effect would say it is wrong to administer sedatives to a very ill patient cancer patient to end their life even though they are suffering and don’t want to live. On the other hand, it’s okay to give the patient sedatives for the purpose of relieving pain knowing it might kill them because if the death of the patient occurs as a foreseen side effect, it is not morally wrong. The doctrine of double effect cares more about the doctor’s intentions, but doesn’t seem to have any regard for the patients will, informed consent, and severity of their suffering, which are important personal variables to take into account. What would the doctrine of double effect say if after giving the painkillers to the patient he or she says I want to die wouldn’t that automatically make you guilty if the patient ends up dying? Can one still argue they are not intending to help one die? It seems that the DDE doesn’t present much clarity and can’t answer or take into account other variables. The DDE appears to be a very controversial theory and that it’s always okay to murder as long as it’s foreseen, but one may feel that it 's reckless to adopt that idea, and it’s better to assess situations by particular individual evidence to come to the correct moral

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Throughout the murder cases, Legalism played an important role in helping Judge Dee expose the truth. Harsh and strict punishments were inflicted anytime even a slight variation of the truth was presented to Judge Dee. For example, when Warden Pang is questioned about his involvement in a crime during the case of The Double Murder at Dawn, he is given one hundred strokes with heavy bamboo for not instantly giving the response Judge Dee expected (Gulik 15). In the case of The Strange Corpse, Mrs. Djou was questioned by Judge Dee under torture even though others in the courtroom believed her story and felt sympathy for her. Judge Dee knew she was guilty of a crime and abided by the philosophy of legalism by punishing her for not being honest in her testimony and for committing a crime

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Homicides are unlike many others, since one’s intentions are discrete as soon as they have a reason to murder. Threatened obligations are innumerable due to the character's personality and their way of thinking into certain circumstances, although a distinct detail can affect the situation. When little to none consequences have any impact to the “murderer” who caused victim's injury, or death, they are responsible regardless of what their intentions are. For instance, a distressed officer, U.S. Marshal Edward Mars, pleaded to end his miserable life due to the pain he was suffering from the shrapnel. Everyone in the camp suggests the cruel deed.

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In the world today, there are people who make the bad choice. Make a bad choice that is, for example, Steve Harmor was the lookout for the robbery but was not responsible for Mr. Nesbitt's death. He planned it with his friend. He said he was at the shore. However, he left the store before Mr. Nesbitt died.

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The many murders of Jeffrey Dahmer are prime examples of man’s inhumanity to

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“When you choose an action, you choose the consequences of that action”. In the book/story “Into the wild”. Chris McCandless is not justified in leaving his family to go into the wild without a trace because he wasted resources and importantly police time and Alaska troopers' time because we're looking for Chris for a long time. Also, he was not safe because all the people he met told him that he should go prepared for Alaska and he ignored the people and ignored the dangers of Alaska. Also, Chris was not sane or mentally stable because he believed that civilization is poison and he burned his money and buried most of his stuff, and left his car before going into the wild.

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In Andre Dubus’ short story, “Killings,” a question of morality is brought up, can killing be justified. Richard Strout in an act of passion kills Matt Fowler’s son. Fowler plans his own justice by killing Strout. Are either of these killings justified? What are Fowler’s consequences for his actions?

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All of the parties involved will be charged with murder. There are limitations to this rule: Some courts require that the death was foreseeable; the crime being committed must be inherently dangerous; the felony committed in connection with the murder, has to be independent and one of the deaths must have been caused directly by one of the felons, and as a consequence of the crime. In State v. Goodseal the meaning of inherently dangerous had to be defined. Charles Goodseal had been released from prison in August, 1969.

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(Chapter 2 page 95). The quote implies that once you do something, it cannot be in one’s control to stop an event from happening. The course of events plays out, which cannot be tampered with, no matter how we try to set things right. The murderers cannot prevent their inexorable fate of death for their actions. When Smith is in Mr. Clutter’s home, he says “I didn’t want to harm the man.

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The Terri Schiavo case was a huge start of the “Right to Die” movement, the underlying cause of Schiavo’s collapse was never given a diagnosis. Consequentialist moral theories focus on how much good can result from an action. Non Consequentialist moral theories or Deontological theories, consider not the consequences of an action but whether they fulfill a duty. Some theories that can be used include utilitarianism, Kant’s ethics and natural law theory. Being aware of the case already, I believe there should be some sort of law that gives doctors to comply with the wishes of the patient if they are in a lot of distress.

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Some actions, like journeys, have value regardless of the outcomes they produce. Williams brings this point about to show how the utilitarian’s focus on consequences might not be the best way to assign value to actions, since it has no way of accounting for the intrinsic values actions may have. Here I have to agree with Williams. The manner in which consequentialist judge actions does not seem to allow any room for considering a person’s intent behind choosing to commit that act. Williams seems to be more open to such considerations than Smart ever was in his

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To begin with, this theory relies on moral absolutes which can be defined as actions that are entirely right or entirely wrong. Deontologists cannot consider the consequences of their actions, even if the consequences of a particular action bring about more harm than the act itself. Deontology theory says that certain types of actions are either absolutely right or wrong, but provides no way in which to distinguish which action may be right or wrong and thus duties and principles can conflict (Preston, 2007). For instance,

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(Pg.92) Every person should have an equal right to life no matter what is thrown at him or her. Everyone should be given the opportunity to have a future, which known as a future like ours theory (FLO). The killing of someone is wrong and in turn is cutting their future short rather than giving them they opportunity to become something great and cutting them short of what they deserve.

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The Act Utilitarianism is Judges an act in terms of the consequences

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If you asked a pregnant woman whether she could will that other women could have an abortion and she replied with “yes”, then it would be okay for her to have an abortion. If “no” then it would be immoral for her to have an abortion. As one can clearly see, the two deontological/Kantian theories have a big grey area. Using Kantian theory, someone who regards abortion as immoral, therefore cannot morally kill in self-defence, according to

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There is a worldwide trend in the use of penal imprisonment for serious offenses as capital punishment has been renounced by an increasing number of countries. Harsh punishments include capital punishment, life imprisonment and long-term incarceration. These forms of punishments are usually used against serious crimes that are seen as unethical, such as murder, assault and robbery. Many people believe that harsher punishments are more effective as they deter would-be criminals and ensure justice is served. Opposition towards harsh punishments have argued that harsher punishments does not necessarily increase effectiveness because they do not have a deterrent effect, do not decrease recidivism rates and do not provide rehabilitation.

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