Moral Worth and Moral Belief.

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Moral Worth and Moral Belief.
Authors: Grant, James
Source: Ethics. Jan2023, Vol. 133 Issue 2, p216-230. 15p.
Subjects: Moral attitudes, Slavery, Escapes, Belief & doubt, Skepticism
Abstract: According to some, when you do the right thing, your moral beliefs make no difference to your act's moral worth. Huckleberry Finn believes he is doing something wrong in helping Jim escape slavery. Yet his act reflects well on him. Some conclude that acting rightly reflects just as well on you whether you believe you are doing something right, wrong, supererogatory, or neutral. I argue against this. Doing the right thing with certain moral beliefs can diminish the moral worth of doing it. In such cases, you do the right thing in the wrong spirit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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Abstract:According to some, when you do the right thing, your moral beliefs make no difference to your act's moral worth. Huckleberry Finn believes he is doing something wrong in helping Jim escape slavery. Yet his act reflects well on him. Some conclude that acting rightly reflects just as well on you whether you believe you are doing something right, wrong, supererogatory, or neutral. I argue against this. Doing the right thing with certain moral beliefs can diminish the moral worth of doing it. In such cases, you do the right thing in the wrong spirit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:00141704
DOI:10.1086/722120