The only misuse of semantics I see is where an attempt to obscure a concretely causal relationship occurs: mistake > punish himself > donate to charity to puni

The only misuse of semantics I see is where an attempt to obscure a concretely causal relationship occurs: mistake > punish himself > donate to charity to punish himself Donating to charity as a method to achieve the punishment goal is precisely material in this case. GP is asking if this method, which contains both a gain and loss, actually results in a punishment with an intended loss.