Lesser of two evils principle

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"Lesser evil" and "Lesser of Two Evils" redirect here. For the Futurama episode, see The Lesser of Two Evils. For other uses, see The Lesser Evil (disambiguation).
For the phrase in the context of voting, see Lesser evil voting.

The lesser of two evils principle, also referred to as the lesser evil principle and lesser-evilism, is the principle that, when faced with selecting from two immoral options, the least immoral one should be chosen. The principle is sometimes recalled in reference to binary political choices in democratic voting under a two-party system.

Origin[edit]

The maxim has existed since at least as early as the Platonic philosophy era.[1] In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle wrote:

"For the lesser evil can be seen in comparison with the greater evil as a good, since this lesser evil is preferable to the greater one, and whatever preferable is good."

The modern formulation was popularized by Thomas à Kempis' devotional book The Imitation of Christ written in early 15th century. In part IV of his Ethics, Spinoza proposed the following maxim:[2]

Proposition 65: "According to the guidance of reason, of two things which are good, we shall follow the greater good, and of two evils, follow the less."

Mythology[edit]

"Between Scylla and Charybdis" is an idiom derived from Homer's Odyssey. In the story, Odysseus chose to go near Scylla as the lesser of two evils. He lost six of his companions, but if he had gone near Charybdis all would be doomed. Because of such stories, having to navigate between the two hazards eventually entered idiomatic use. Another equivalent English seafaring phrase is "Between a rock and a hard place".[3] The Latin line incidit in scyllam cupiens vitare charybdim ("he runs into Scylla, wishing to avoid Charybdis") had earlier become proverbial, with a meaning much the same as jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Erasmus recorded it as an ancient proverb in his Adagia, although the earliest known instance is in the Alexandreis, a 12th-century Latin epic poem by Walter of Châtillon.[4]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Dougherty, M. V. (14 April 2011). Moral Dilemmas in Medieval Thought: From Gratian to Aquinas. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139501439.
  2. ^ de Spinoza, Benedict (2017) [1677]. "Of Human Bondage or of the Strength of the Affects". Ethics. Translated by White, W.H. New York: Penguin Classics. p. 424. ASIN B00DO8NRDC.
  3. ^ Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English available online
  4. ^ Noted by Edward Charles Harington in Notes and Queries 5th Series, 8 (7 July 1877:14).

External links[edit]

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