Object, Intention, Circumstance

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Object, Intention, Circumstance

• Note These distinctions can be used with either
  a moral or an immoral act

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Circumstances

• Secondary elements
• A number of things that affect either
• The person who is performing the action
• Age, economic status, psychological state, etc.
• The content of the action itself
• what is stolen, foreseeable consequences, etc.

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1. Evaluating Situations

• 1. Can now use these to evaluate our conduct
• Step 1 Start by looking at object intention

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2. Object Intention

• 2. Both object the intention have to be good in
  order for the action as a whole to be morally
  praiseworthy
• Good Object Bad Intention ? Moral Action
• Donating to look good does not make it morally
  praiseworthy
• Bad Object Good Intention ?Moral Action
• Stealing for your grandma
• An evil action cannot be justified by a good
  intention
• Compare w/ Kant
• Good Object Good Intention Moral Action
• Any relation to Aristotle?

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Circumstances

• Step 2 Consider circumstances
• Secondary, but can greatly affect the moral
  status
• A) The level of responsibility
• B) The level of moral goodness or evil of an
  action
• Circumstances can never change an inherently
  immoral object into a good one
• Opposes Utilitarianisms view end justifies the
  mean
• Rarely circumstances can make an action that is
  good, inappropriate
• Parents talking Married couple ex.

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Activity

• You will be given 4 slips of paper. Write
• 1. One morally good object
• Donating your old cell phone to a charity for
  abused women
• 2. One morally bad object
• Stealing a Michael Bolton C.D.
• 3. One morally good intention
• out of the kindness of your heart
• 4. One immoral intention
• to look good in front of your buddies

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• 1. What is meant by object, intention,
  circumstance?
• 2. Of object, intention, or circumstance which do
  we consider first in determining the morality or
  an action?
• 3. What is one point that differs btwn. this view
  of the moral act and Utilitarianism? And Kant?
• 4. Circumstances include any number of things
  that affect ____ or ______.
• 5. In what two ways can circumstances affect the
  moral status of an action?
• 6. Give one original example of a case when
  circumstances can make an action that is good
  inappropriate.