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if someone does the right thing, it usually doesn't matter whether or not they're done for the right reasons Totally agree. Unfortunately the reverse is also
by narag 5y ago
if someone does the right thing, it usually doesn't matter whether or not they're done for the right reasons
Totally agree.
Unfortunately the reverse is also true: if someone does the wrong thing it usually doesn't matter wether or not they're done for the right reasons (or wrong reasons?) but it also happens all the time.
Sometimes it's very difficult to know if a reason is good, wrong or evil. Driving children to school? Not sure about the USA, but when I used to drive in Madrid, school holidays were patently obvious.
- nobody9999 5y ago>Sometimes it's very difficult to know if a reason is good, wrong or evil. Driving children to school? Not sure about the USA, but when I used to drive in Madrid, school holidays were patently obvious. Apologies for the delay in responding. As the old saying goes, "actions speak louder than words." I'd say that also applied to the reasons people do things. While there certainly is merit in consciously choosing to do the right thing (whatever that might be, in context), even if one doesn't have a conscious or stated reason for doing something, the action taken is what will impact the world around us, not the thought (or lack of) process behind that action. And while acting selfishly may have negative consequences (as you point out WRT driving in Madrid on school holidays), understanding the dynamics of self interest can prompt societally positive behaviors for selfish reasons. Examples and counterexamples of this are numerous, and we've covered a bunch of them. I think we're mostly in agreement about the principle behind this, if not always specific examples.