Intent vs. Action

[Speed of Sound]

You guys need to help me out here. Im sure Im right, but I need some confirmation. Me and two friends were arguing over what you use to measure morality, intent or action/result of acting on intent. Me and my one friend said intent, the other said action. What do you think?


Here's my argument: We have (the three of us) agreed that, while subjective, morality works on a spectrum of good and evil. I define one's position on the spectrum as odds of doing good or evil and magnitude of good or evil. Therefore, intent must define your morality, as what you think/want to do will better predict what you will do in the future than the result of you acting on them, because if you attempt to kill 1,000,000 people, but accidently save a child, one would surely use the thought, not the result as what one uses to define the morality of the person. (My other friend is actually attempting the argue otherwise) Along the same line, if I attempt to save you from a speeding bus by pushing you out of the way, but I launch you into a manhole and the bus never ends up coming this way (it turns at the last second/stops) then the death should not be what is used to judge my morality.....correct?

[Speed of Sound]

Correct, and your friend is delusional. (You can make argument against morality using his formulation, but you can't say that morality is based on outcomes rather than intents.)

Coincidently, we described him the exact same way.