Double meanings will not save the principle of double effect. 2014

Charles D Douglas, and Ian H Kerridge, and Rachel A Ankeny
University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia charles.douglas@newcastle.edu.au.

In an article somewhat ironically entitled "Disambiguating Clinical Intentions," Lynn Jansen promotes an idea that should be bewildering to anyone familiar with the literature on the intention/foresight distinction. According to Jansen, "intention" has two commonsense meanings, one of which is equivalent to "foresight." Consequently, questions about intention are "infected" with ambiguity-people cannot tell what they mean and do not know how to answer them. This hypothesis is unsupported by evidence, but Jansen states it as if it were accepted fact. In this reply, we make explicit the multiple misrepresentations she has employed to make her hypothesis seem plausible. We also point out the ways in which it defies common sense. In particular, Jansen applies her thesis only to recent empirical research on the intentions of doctors, totally ignoring the widespread confusion that her assertion would imply in everyday life, in law, and indeed in religious and philosophical writings concerning the intention/foresight distinction and the Principle of Double Effect.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D010166 Palliative Care Care alleviating symptoms without curing the underlying disease. (Stedman, 25th ed) Palliative Treatment,Palliative Supportive Care,Palliative Surgery,Palliative Therapy,Surgery, Palliative,Therapy, Palliative,Care, Palliative,Palliative Treatments,Supportive Care, Palliative,Treatment, Palliative,Treatments, Palliative
D010686 Philosophy, Medical The underlying rationale or theoretical basis for the principles of MEDICINE. Medical Philosophy
D005065 Euthanasia The act or practice of killing or allowing death from natural causes, for reasons of mercy, i.e., in order to release a person from incurable disease, intolerable suffering, or undignified death. (from Beauchamp and Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics, 5th ed) Mercy Killing,Killing, Mercy,Killings, Mercy,Mercy Killings
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D013727 Terminal Care Medical and nursing care of patients in the terminal stage of an illness. End-Of-Life Care,End of Life Care,Care, End-Of-Life,Care, Terminal,End-Of-Life Cares
D033182 Intention What a person has in mind to do or bring about. Intentions
D034723 Double Effect Principle Guideline for determining when it is morally permissible to perform an action to pursue a good end with knowledge that the action will also bring about bad results. It generally states that, in cases where a contemplated action has such double effect, the action is permissible only if: it is not wrong in itself; the bad result is not intended; the good result is not a direct causal result of the bad result; and the good result is "proportionate to" the bad result. (from Solomon, "Double Effect," in Becker, The Encyclopedia of Ethics, 1992) Doctrine of Double Effect,Double Effect Doctrine,Double Effect Rule,Principle of Double Effect,Rule of Double Effect,Doctrine, Double Effect,Effect Doctrine, Double,Effect Principle, Double,Effect Rule, Double,Principle, Double Effect,Principles, Double Effect,Rule, Double Effect

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