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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 4 page paper examines Mill's idea about motive. Several examples are provided in which to evaluate whether or not motive matters in respect to morality. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: RT13_SA727U.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
morality is not tied to motive, but rather to the individual engaging in an activity. However, the expression from this quote is rather well known and attributable to John Stuart
Mill. For Mill, who is a utilitarian, the purpose of the statement is to note that an act is either moral or immoral, and one cannot take motive into consideration.
It is further suggested that when evaluating motive, one is considering the entire human being. For example, when OJ Simpson was on trial, supporters saw him as a good person
and found it unbelievable that he could have killed someone. What motive could he have? In evaluating OJ in this manner, people did not look at the heinous act. It
is the act that is immoral, and arguably not the actor. Although in some way Mills idea makes sense, there are certainly problems with that sort of logic. Indeed, there
are situations where it seems as if motive matters. In fact, the entire judicial system is made up of laws that do pertain to motive. Punishment is aligned with motive
for an act. Someone who kills a police officer, for example, is punished very harshly. Although the act of murder seems to be just as problematic when tied to an
ordinary citizen as it is for a police officer, the government sees that the motive is different. People kill police officers because they represent the law and in some way,
that is worse. There are further, hate crimes where motive is entrenched in prejudice, and for society, that should be punished more harshly. Thus, if someone kills another human being
because he or she is gay or black, the motive is judged and punished more than if someone murders another individual for a different reason. Mills idea about motive
...