Kum & Go isn’t a charity, yet they found a way to go from zero charitable activity to nonzero. That’s a plus.
So you’re saying the ends are what is important, not the reason the action was taken?
To me, there’s an important philosophical question here – if the right action (or a demonstrably good action) is taken, does it matter why? I think it does.
Let’s say my neighbor doesn’t maintain their property – they don’t mow or clean the landscaping. I decide to do this for them on my own, with their permission of course. There is a difference if I’m doing this to be a good neighbor, as opposed to making sure the neighborhood looks good because I’m selling my house. My actions are the same in both cases, as are the effects and side effects – only the motivation differs. Therefore that motivation deserves to be interrogated and explored.
If you honestly see that as a negative, you should take it as a wake-up call that you’re using an irrationally pessimistic lens to view the world.
I don’t see myself as a pessimist, but I’ll admit this observation is probably correct.
So you’re saying the ends are what is important, not the reason the action was taken?
To me, there’s an important philosophical question here – if the right action (or a demonstrably good action) is taken, does it matter why? I think it does.
Let’s say my neighbor doesn’t maintain their property – they don’t mow or clean the landscaping. I decide to do this for them on my own, with their permission of course. There is a difference if I’m doing this to be a good neighbor, as opposed to making sure the neighborhood looks good because I’m selling my house. My actions are the same in both cases, as are the effects and side effects – only the motivation differs. Therefore that motivation deserves to be interrogated and explored.
I don’t see myself as a pessimist, but I’ll admit this observation is probably correct.