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Often, we believe that the most challenging moral dilemmas lie in identifying the correct moral principles. However, even with a consensus on certain moral principles, the challenge remains in their application to specific situations. Concrete circumstances can blur the lines between right and wrong. How, then, do we determine whether a particular moral action is right, wrong, or neither? What aspects of a situation dictate the morality of an action? Are the intentions or the consequences more important? Or do both – or neither – play a role? The following discussion aims to explore these questions and offer some clarity.
Our decisions change us.
Morality does not depend on what you do but on what you will to do.
We want both our intentions and the means to our intentions.
The end does not justify the means.
Some voluntary side-effects might be unwanted.
The end and the situation does not justify the means but may justify some bad, unwanted side-effects.
We should never want to do wrong.
Do consequences alone matter?
We are faced with two incompatible alternatives. On one hand, we can accept the common belief that only the negative consequences of our actions hold moral significance. On the other hand, we might consider that morality is fundamentally about the moral transformation within a person. The first perspective has deeply influenced popular culture, creating a dogma that only actions harmful to others or performed without their consent are morally reprehensible. However, we cannot uphold both viewpoints simultaneously. We must choose one and reject the other.
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