The topic of ends-vs.-means has been circulating a bunch lately. Are you allowed to do something that’s a little bit bad if it makes it possible to do something very, very good as a result?
For example, can you torture your enemies, if you goal isn’t pure brutalism, but your own safety? Others have covered the Catholic response to the recently released torture reports quite thoroughly. Just a couple:
Another one big one, one of the topics in the recent Notre Dame theology scandal: May you use IVF to try to conceive? Your goal is good — eternally good. So wouldn’t the side of good say that it’s okay to do this thing, that sure it has problems, but overall more good comes of it?
The answer is: No.
The reason, you may be surprised to learn, is not about Catholic doctrine. It’s because of two fundamental principles of ethics that sustain any viable moral system. And you can read about them in this tutorial I wrote here.
Take, read. Your brain thanks you.
If you want to hear it from someone else, or you’re just looking for a good no-nonsense primer on moral theology, I recommend the vintage-but-timeless Religion Outlines for Colleges. It’s even got smoking metaphors, from back when people didn’t think smoking was necessarily all that bad for you. Blast from the past that will help you make sense of the present.
Image courtesy of Amazon.com, used for this book review.
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