What is a right action?

Should you think about your duty, or about the consequences of your actions? Or should you concentrate on becoming a good person?

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bahman
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What is a right action?

Post by bahman »

We discuss that human is a moral agent in another thread. The rightness of action, however, must be derived from a moral principle since without moral principle one cannot find the right action therefore morality is an illusion. We also need a definition for right, wrong, evil, and good. These are defined here. But is there a moral principle? The answer is yes. We are similar therefore we have to be fair. Fairness is the moral principle for the rightness of an action.
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Terrapin Station
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Re: What is a right action?

Post by Terrapin Station »

A morally right or good action is an action, to S, that is in line with S's preferences for interactive behavior, with an emphasis on the behavior that S feels is recommendable-to-obligatory rather than just permissible.
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bahman
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Re: What is a right action?

Post by bahman »

Terrapin Station wrote: Thu Feb 11, 2021 2:04 pm A morally right or good action is an action, to S, that is in line with S's preferences for interactive behavior, with an emphasis on the behavior that S feels is recommendable-to-obligatory rather than just permissible.
Good is not right always.
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Terrapin Station
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Re: What is a right action?

Post by Terrapin Station »

bahman wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 1:35 pm
Terrapin Station wrote: Thu Feb 11, 2021 2:04 pm A morally right or good action is an action, to S, that is in line with S's preferences for interactive behavior, with an emphasis on the behavior that S feels is recommendable-to-obligatory rather than just permissible.
Good is not right always.
Your earlier comments on this were incoherent in my opinion.
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bahman
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Re: What is a right action?

Post by bahman »

Terrapin Station wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 1:38 pm
bahman wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 1:35 pm
Terrapin Station wrote: Thu Feb 11, 2021 2:04 pm A morally right or good action is an action, to S, that is in line with S's preferences for interactive behavior, with an emphasis on the behavior that S feels is recommendable-to-obligatory rather than just permissible.
Good is not right always.
Your earlier comments on this were incoherent in my opinion.
Which part is incoherent?
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Terrapin Station
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Re: What is a right action?

Post by Terrapin Station »

bahman wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 1:42 pm
Terrapin Station wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 1:38 pm
bahman wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 1:35 pm
Good is not right always.
Your earlier comments on this were incoherent in my opinion.
Which part is incoherent?
That you would think, for example, that punishment for something is good but wrong.
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bahman
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Re: What is a right action?

Post by bahman »

Terrapin Station wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 2:04 pm
bahman wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 1:42 pm
Terrapin Station wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 1:38 pm
Your earlier comments on this were incoherent in my opinion.
Which part is incoherent?
That you would think, for example, that punishment for something is good but wrong.
That is not incoherent given the definition. One has to say, punishment is evil but could be right.
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Terrapin Station
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Re: What is a right action?

Post by Terrapin Station »

bahman wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 7:59 pm
Terrapin Station wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 2:04 pm
bahman wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 1:42 pm
Which part is incoherent?
That you would think, for example, that punishment for something is good but wrong.
That is not incoherent given the definition. One has to say, punishment is evil but could be right.
It's incoherent to say that something evil is right, lol
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bahman
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Re: What is a right action?

Post by bahman »

Terrapin Station wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:05 pm
bahman wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 7:59 pm
Terrapin Station wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 2:04 pm
That you would think, for example, that punishment for something is good but wrong.
That is not incoherent given the definition. One has to say, punishment is evil but could be right.
It's incoherent to say that something evil is right, lol
No, it is not given the decision. We have already discussed this in another thread.
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Terrapin Station
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Re: What is a right action?

Post by Terrapin Station »

bahman wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:13 pm
Terrapin Station wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:05 pm
bahman wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 7:59 pm
That is not incoherent given the definition. One has to say, punishment is evil but could be right.
It's incoherent to say that something evil is right, lol
No, it is not given the decision. We have already discussed this in another thread.
Right. But your comments in that other thread were never coherent. What does "It is not (incoherent to say that something evil is right) given the decision" mean? How does "given the decision" modify that in some way that makes sense of it?
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bahman
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Re: What is a right action?

Post by bahman »

Terrapin Station wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:26 pm
bahman wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:13 pm
Terrapin Station wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:05 pm

It's incoherent to say that something evil is right, lol
No, it is not given the decision. We have already discussed this in another thread.
Right. But your comments in that other thread were never coherent. What does "It is not (incoherent to say that something evil is right) given the decision" mean? How does "given the decision" modify that in some way that makes sense of it?
Do you encourage your kid to break windows in the middle of winter or not? Please note that encouraging is good but wrong in such a situation.
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Terrapin Station
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Re: What is a right action?

Post by Terrapin Station »

bahman wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:29 pm
Terrapin Station wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:26 pm
bahman wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:13 pm
No, it is not given the decision. We have already discussed this in another thread.
Right. But your comments in that other thread were never coherent. What does "It is not (incoherent to say that something evil is right) given the decision" mean? How does "given the decision" modify that in some way that makes sense of it?
Do you encourage your kid to break windows in the middle of winter or not? Please note that encouraging is good but wrong in such a situation.
Encouraging is not good in some context-free way. It depends on what you're encouraging obviously.
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bahman
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Re: What is a right action?

Post by bahman »

Terrapin Station wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:39 pm
bahman wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:29 pm
Terrapin Station wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 8:26 pm

Right. But your comments in that other thread were never coherent. What does "It is not (incoherent to say that something evil is right) given the decision" mean? How does "given the decision" modify that in some way that makes sense of it?
Do you encourage your kid to break windows in the middle of winter or not? Please note that encouraging is good but wrong in such a situation.
Encouraging is not good in some context-free way. It depends on what you're encouraging obviously.
What is your definition of good?
Veritas Aequitas
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Re: What is a right action?

Post by Veritas Aequitas »

Terrapin Station wrote: Thu Feb 11, 2021 2:04 pm A morally right or good action is an action, to S, that is in line with S's preferences for interactive behavior, with an emphasis on the behavior that S feels is recommendable-to-obligatory rather than just permissible.
You have not reflected more deeply to what you have posted below;
Terrapin Station wrote: Thu Feb 11, 2021 2:07 pm Humans are animals, and we're not the only animals to appear to have dispositions that amount to morality.

See for example https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/20/science/20moral.html
If animals [higher animals e.g. the primates] has a sense of morality, it is cannot be their conscious preferences or feelings.

Where any dispositions with a semblance of morality is present in animals [non-humans] they are more likely to be instinctual, i.e. inherent.

The inference is then, moral acts as observed in humans [more evolved and advance] are thus likely to be driven by the inherent moral function [moral facts] just like those of the monkeys researched.

The next task is to verify and justify these inferences of moral facts empirically and philosophically within the moral FSK.
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Terrapin Station
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Re: What is a right action?

Post by Terrapin Station »

Veritas Aequitas wrote: Sat Feb 13, 2021 6:41 am If animals [higher animals e.g. the primates] has a sense of morality, it is cannot be their conscious preferences or feelings
Because?

You're making some claim to definitively know what other animals' minds are like?
Where any dispositions with a semblance of morality is present in animals [non-humans] they are more likely to be instinctual, i.e. inherent.
Dispositions, in general, by the way, are not decided upon. They're inherent. That's the whole gist of them. Your dispositions are due to the way your particular brain works (due to a combo of your DNA and your unique development, including environmental factors (including things like nutrition, etc.)).
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