opening doors for others.
Bob opens a door for Alice. Can we consider this to be a good deed of the likes of a Boy Scout helping a little old lady cross the street? Can we tell by actions alone? If our magic mind reader machine indicates that Bob is opening the door for Alice because Alice is a woman, does the good deed suddenly become evil? Does intention alter the deed? If our magic mind reader machine is on the fritz (and mine’s been in the shop for years), then how will we ever know good door openers from evil ones?
Is the evilness of an act defined by intent alone? If someone does the right thing for all the wrong reasons, is the deed an evil deed? Or is the evilness of an act defined solely by the objective, negative effects of an act? If there are no objective negative effects, only positive objective effects, but the thoughts behind the deed are pure evil, is the act evil or good?
