Wrongdoing and Motivation
This chapter defends the view that motivation plays a more direct role in determining what is wrong than as this view suggests. This idea helps us to clarify the structure of wrongdoing and also to understand one way in which morality and criminal law come apart. An act can be wrong in virtue of the motivation with which it was done. But, for various reasons, we have good reason not to criminalize all action that is wrong. Sometimes we will wish to tolerate wrongful action because of its desirable consequences.
Keywords: motivations, criminal law, morality, wrongdoing
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