Three parts of the
human act
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The human act
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What are the questions a reporter asks about any
story?
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The human act
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The “5 W’s”:
Who
What
When
Where
Why
(and an “h”) How
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The human act
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Which is most important? Second most?
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The human act
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Who
What—the most important
When
Where
Why—the second most important
(and an “h”) How
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The human act
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“Who, when, where, and how” do matter,
but they are circumstances
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Three parts of the act
1.
2.
3.
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Object—the moral action chosen by the
agent’s will (“the what”)
Motive—the purpose or desire of the agent
(“the why”)
Circumstances—surrounding conditions which
pertain to the morality of the action
(Look at all three in more detail…)
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What:
This person is giving $100 to a charity over the
phone. That’s the object.
WHY?
(motive)
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1. The object
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… the action chosen by the agent
It can be good or bad in itself
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1. The object
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… the action chosen by the agent
It can be good or bad in itself
It includes your immediate intention
It’s not just the physical action: “I’m pulling a
trigger”, but: “I’m shooting someone”
 Not just “my foot is in the aisle” but “I am trying to
trip you”, and I intend for you to fall.
 Then, there’s a “further reason” called the motive.
For tripping, this may be: humiliation, comedy,
delay class, vengeance, racism…
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2. Motive
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…The purpose or desire of the agent
This is the “further reason” we do something
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Motive
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The purpose or desire of the agent
This is the “further reason” we do something
E.g., I trip the President “to become infamous
for assault” OR “to save him from a sniper’s
bullet”
E.g., I push the 1st floor elevator button “to get
away from my crime” OR “to visit my mom”.
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Motive
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Sometimes there are multiple motives for one
object/action (“mixed motives” and “ulterior
motives”). E.g., I steal from a man, to get rich
and to get even.
One motive can lead to several actions (e.g., My
goal of being an M.D. leads to many academic
decisions for 8 years)
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Motive
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The motive can be called the “end” of your
action, or the goal
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The object can be called the “means” to that
end, or, the way you get to the goal
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So far…
the Object/
(is done for)
the Motive/
the Means
the End
the “What”
the “Why”
(objective)
(subjective)
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Motive
Some people say a good end justifies a bad means.
(If your goal is good, the way you get there is
okay).
 Is this true?
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Motive
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No
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The end does not justify the means.
The motive does not justify the object.
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Motive
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E.g., I want to help the poor, but I steal to do it.
Good/Bad?
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E.g., if I want to stay out of trouble, but I lie to
do it. Good/Bad?
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E.g., if I want to show affection, but I do
impure things. Good/Bad?
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Motive
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Who thinks the end justifies the means any time
you want?
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Motive
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Moral relativists
A relativist won’t admit that any moral object is
objectively wrong.
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Motive
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So, do the object and motive both need to be
good?
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Motive
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So, do the object, motive, and circumstances all
need to be good?
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3. Circumstances
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Circumstances are everything else morally
relevant to the act:
Who is doing it?
 Where and when and how?
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Circumstances can make the action worse or
perhaps not as bad, but cannot turn a bad action
good.
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3. Circumstances
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For example:
Who? Lying—you or the president?
 Whom? Stealing water—from a teammate, or from
a man in the desert?
 Where? Public or private?
 When? Ash Wednesday? Sunday? Someone’s
wedding day? Any old day?
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Circumstances
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So…
Mowing the lawn
 In order to make my house look good
 At 3:00 a.m. with neighbors trying to sleep (this
circumstance makes it wrong)
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Circumstances
E.g.,
-You hit a person in anger
-To release your frustration about getting fired
-right or wrong?
-Does it make it better or worse if the person is
your grandpa instead of a stranger?
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Circumstance
Worse, because he deserves respect even more
than the stranger.
The object is wrong no matter what, but the
circumstance makes it even worse
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Circumstance
Another circumstance is “how”:
--Premeditated (“in cold blood”), or in passion of
the moment?
--Was it free, or was there fear or coercion/force?
--Was the person sane, insane by choice (drunk),
or insane by accident (psych. meds not working
right, etc)?
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Circumstance
Responsibility:
a.
Directly responsible: you choose the evil
object and motive (ex: put rat poison in
brownies, knowingly and willingly)
b. Indirectly responsible: you act negligently (ex:
ignoring doubt and putting in a mislabeled
poison)
c.
Not responsible: you could not reasonably
know, nor did you choose (ex: unknowingly
giving kids prepared, poisoned brownies)
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What is required?
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Our job is to do morally good things, for
morally good reasons, in the right circumstances.
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Object and motive are primary, so they must be
good. We must have at least neutral
circumstances.
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Objective evil = an action that is evil in itself,
AKA, intrinsic evil
Such an evil cannot be justified by good
ends/motives or tough circumstances
The end NEVER justifies the means
But next, we’ll look at a principle that allows us
to do good, when an evil is not a direct end or
means, but a side effect….
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The Principle of
Double Effect
Double Effect
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Some actions bring about evil results
Even though the agent intends to do good
Is an action that has a good and an evil effect
permissible?
Double Effect
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The action may be carried out when:
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1. The good effect cannot be reasonably brought
about in any other way.
2. And with the following conditions:
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Conditions:
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A. The action must be good in itself or at least
indifferent.
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An intrinsically evil action (like abortion) is
never permissible, even if it has a good effect,
because abortion is always evil in itself.
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A. Action (+,N)
Conditions:
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B. The agent must have the right intention.
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1. Good effect  directly intended
2. Bad effect  unwanted;
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only permitted/tolerated
One must never directly intend an evil.
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B. Intention (+)
Conditions:
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C. The good effect must be the direct result of
the action.
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The end does not justify the means.
Conditions:
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D. The good effect must balance the evil effect.
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The good effect must be equal to or outweigh
the evil effect.
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Good >,= Bad
An example
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A young woman is expecting her third child
when she is diagnosed with uterine cancer. The
cancer is advanced, and without an immediate
hysterectomy (removal of the uterus), the
expectant mother will die. Her unborn child,
however, is unable to survive outside the womb
at this point, and to await the viability of the
child would, in the doctor’s best judgment likely
cause the death of both the mother and the
child. However, the proposed operation will
also certainly cause the child’s death, though it
will save the mother’s life.
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A. Is the action good or indifferent?
B. Does the physician intend to save the
mother’s life and only permit the evil action?
C. Does the good effect come about as a result
of the evil effect?
D. Is the good effect equal to the bad effect?
Case study
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Seven Pounds: Will Smith gets into a bathtub
with a jellyfish so he can give his organs to 7
people and save their lives.
Case study
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Alive: a rugby team is flying over the Andes and
crashes. Half the team lives and half the team
dies. The living eat the dead in order to survive
in hopes of rescue.
Case study
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Cannibalism: A team crashes, and agree to gang
up on the fat one and eat him first.
Case study
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Embryonic stem cell research
Case study
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Law abiding citizen: torture and kill the killer of
wife and daughter.
Case study
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Medical marijuana
Case study
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Robin Hood
Case study
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Bruce Willis flies space ship into asteroid to save
the earth.
House of Rights
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The “House of Rights” helps resolve some cases
of proportionality more easily.
The three inalienable rights, according to John
Locke are…
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House of Rights
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The “House of Rights” helps resolve some cases of
proportionality more easily.
The three inalienable rights, according to John Locke
are…
Life, Liberty and Property
Are those in order of importance, or not?
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House of Rights
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This helps resolve some cases of proportionality more
easily.
The three inalienable rights, according to John Locke
are…
Life, Liberty and Property
Are those in order of importance, or not?
They are! Life is needed to have liberty, and
liberty is needed to use property.
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House of Rights
Property
Liberty
Life
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So…
Life trumps liberty
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Liberty trumps property
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(Right to life trumps mother’s liberty)
(Right of slave’s freedom trumps slaveholder’s claim)
This makes some cases easier. But PDE can still
be used when it’s life-vs-life, etc.
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So…
Stealing from a rich person when starving? Is it
stealing? Is it justified?
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So…
Stealing from a rich person when starving? Is it stealing?
Is it justified?
It may not be stealing at all, because it is a life
right, which trumps a property right (as long as
the rich man has enough food).
This does not justify ordinary theft or looting,
even from the richest person.
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End does not justify the means
(ENJM)
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Three reasons:
1. What criteria (rule) should we use to decide
when it does and when it doesn’t?
2. Who gets to decide?
3. If I choose evil, I BECOME evil. My actions
change my will, my soul, my self.
Plato said:
“It is far better to suffer evil than to do it.”
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The end doesn’t justify the means.
2 wrongs don’t make a right.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Far better to suffer evil than to do evil.—Plato