<P> The principle of double effect -- also known as the rule of double effect ; the doctrine of double effect , often abbreviated as DDE or PDE , double - effect reasoning ; or simply double effect -- is a set of ethical criteria which Christian philosophers , and some others , have advocated for evaluating the permissibility of acting when one 's otherwise legitimate act ( for example , relieving a terminally ill patient 's pain ) may also cause an effect one would otherwise be obliged to avoid ( sedation and a slightly shortened life ) . The first known example of double - effect reasoning is Thomas Aquinas ' treatment of homicidal self - defense , in his work Summa Theologica . </P>
<P> The principle of double effect -- also known as the rule of double effect ; the doctrine of double effect , often abbreviated as DDE or PDE , double - effect reasoning ; or simply double effect -- is a set of ethical criteria which Christian philosophers , and some others , have advocated for evaluating the permissibility of acting when one 's otherwise legitimate act ( for example , relieving a terminally ill patient 's pain ) may also cause an effect one would otherwise be obliged to avoid ( sedation and a slightly shortened life ) . The first known example of double - effect reasoning is Thomas Aquinas ' treatment of homicidal self - defense , in his work Summa Theologica . </P>
who came up with the principle of double effect
who came up with the principle of double effect
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas