First, If the internal motive of actions is eliminated there will be less drive to lead a moral life. Mill fights this point by explaining that the drive for prevention of pain is strong enough motivation to perform moral acts. Mill separates actions from a person’s morality. I tend to think that a person is defined by their action, however, if you have the wrong intentions you will be unable to always perform the moral act. For example, you will be unable to always perform the moral act, that is, one that brings happiness to the greatest number of people, if your intentions are selfish and you are only looking out for yourself. If someone accidently performed a non-moral act, we recognize that this action is less immoral than if they had purposely attempted the act, for example, first degree murder versus involuntary manslaughter. The motivation for performing an action effects whether the action is good, and a moral person should do the right thing, regardless of consequences. Mill makes the argument that the motives of an action do not matter when determining if the action is moral, yet, I am not convinced that an action can be completely moral if the intentions are
First, If the internal motive of actions is eliminated there will be less drive to lead a moral life. Mill fights this point by explaining that the drive for prevention of pain is strong enough motivation to perform moral acts. Mill separates actions from a person’s morality. I tend to think that a person is defined by their action, however, if you have the wrong intentions you will be unable to always perform the moral act. For example, you will be unable to always perform the moral act, that is, one that brings happiness to the greatest number of people, if your intentions are selfish and you are only looking out for yourself. If someone accidently performed a non-moral act, we recognize that this action is less immoral than if they had purposely attempted the act, for example, first degree murder versus involuntary manslaughter. The motivation for performing an action effects whether the action is good, and a moral person should do the right thing, regardless of consequences. Mill makes the argument that the motives of an action do not matter when determining if the action is moral, yet, I am not convinced that an action can be completely moral if the intentions are