An example in real life would be killing a terrorist to stop him/her taking more innocent lives. What are some phrases that describe this situation?
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3Fight fire with fire.– Michael HarveyCommented May 2, 2020 at 6:25
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"The end justifies the means" (Sergey Necheyev) can be traced back to Ovid's Heroides, and is widely associated with the Machiavelli. The branch of philosophy that handles such matters is called consequentialism– Phil SweetCommented May 2, 2020 at 13:06
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"To bite the bullet" is to do something unpleasant after some hesitation. Not a 100% match for what you ask but close.– ottodidaktCommented May 2, 2020 at 17:17
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A blessing in disguise: something that seems bad or unlucky at first, but results in something good happening later is close.– Rayan KhanCommented May 2, 2020 at 19:53
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2 Answers
It's commonly called a necessary evil.
From Wikipedia:
A necessary evil is an evil that someone believes must be done or accepted because it is necessary to achieve a better outcome—especially because possible alternative courses of action or inaction are expected to be worse. It is the "lesser evil" in the lesser of two evils principle, which maintains that given two bad choices, the one that is least bad is the better choice.
answered May 2, 2020 at 19:38
yourdictionary.com
Retribution is defined as something done to get back at someone or the act of punishing someone for their actions. An example of retribution is when someone gets the death penalty for committing murder.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retribution
Retribution may refer to:
Punishment
Retributive justice, a theory of justice that considers proportionate punishment an acceptable response to crime
Divine retribution, retributive justice in a religious context
Revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance
