Friday, January 9, 2015

Mr. Bumbles and The Limits of Intentions

Many people like to think that their intentions matter.   If you buy someone a gift that they might not end up liking, it's "the thought that counts."

How much do intentions really matter, though?  Let's imagine a person named Mr. Bumbles.  Mr. Bumbles is an extremely well-intentioned albeit ignorant person.


Mr. Bumbles loves wine, pork, and beef, and has three friends who are religiously observant, a Muslim, a Jew, and a Hindu.  When he's invited to dinner at his friends' respective houses, he gives a bottle of wine to the Muslim, a package of pork rinds to the Jew, and a box of beef jerky to the Hindu.


Suffice it to say, these gifts are just a tad problematic.  Is Mr. Bumbles acting amorally by giving these gifts even though his intentions were good?

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