Prompt:
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.
Most people believe that individuals should be judged strictly by their actions. If their actions have negative results, it does not matter whether they meant to do good. Other people, however, believe that individuals with good intentions should not be judged as harshly as those who deliberately intend to do something bad. After all, motivations should be taken into account when people’s actions are being judged.
Assignment:
Do good intentions matter, or should people be judged only according to the results of their actions? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.
Response:
The consequences of an action hold more weight than the intention that came along with it. One may intend to do something with good will, but if the result is disastrous, there is no difference even if one had started out with evil intentions. Various examples from literature and history demonstrate that an action is an action, regardless of what it was meant to be. Its meaning lies in the perception of the beholder.
In Michael Punke’s novel, ‘The Revenant’, Fitzgerald kills the already-dying Hugh Glass because he believes that by doing so, the group of travelers will stand a better chance of surviving in the Yellowstone forest. His companions will save energy that would otherwise have been spent carrying Glass and will hence shorten the journey home, lowering the chances of being attacked by Rees. Fitzgerald has the lives of his mates in mind when he murders Glass. However, he is caught in the action and perceived a murderer by everyone. This shows that even though Fitzgerald had good intentions, he is judged only by the end result.
In Charles Greten’s ‘The Misconception’, Paris often escorts his friend Desdemona home as he is concerned about her safety, especially late at night. However, when Paris’ fiancée, Helen, spies on Paris and Desdemona she feels that Paris has fallen out of love with her and commits suicide. Helen’s suicide note incriminates Paris and soon, the entire city is against Paris and demand that he be hanged. This instance illustrates that Paris’ good will was misinterpreted as the cause of Helen’s death.
In Virgil’s epic poem ‘The Aeneid’, Baelor, a famous healing man, intends to help the king of Rome in the war with Greece. Baelor concocts a potion for the horses in the king’s army to make them stronger and faster. However, at the time of feeding the potion, Baelor picks up a bottle of poisonous herb paste instead and all the horses die. Baelor is seen as a traitor by all the Romans and is banished by the king. The fact that Baelor had not intended for this to happen is insignificant to the king. Although he did not mean to kill the horses, he is seen as the reason behind their death and the king’s inevitably losing the war.
These instances from ‘The Revenant’, ‘The Iliad’, and ‘The Aeneid’ go to show that it does not matter if one intends to do something good, because if the consequences turn out to be bad, nobody will care.