Does it Matter Who is Driving the Trolley?

Abstract

Contemporary defenses of the doctrine of double effect (DDE) are mainly focused on avoiding the absurdity charge raised by Judith Thomson (1991). There are two strategies proposed in the literature for refuting Thomson's argument. In this paper I argue that answering Thomson's challenge comes at a heavy price: while both versions of the DDE that are developed within these two strategies successfully avoid the absurdity charge, they also remain incomplete. Thomson's argument reveals that the proponents of the DDE can at best provide a partial defense of the claim that intentions can be relevant to permissibility.