The Right Thing For The Wrong Reason.

I think the right thing for the wrong reason is entirely possible - I once interviewed someone who talked about managing people in a way that was totally mechanical, i.e. "if you do X for the person then the person will do Y" when in my mind, X was the right thing to do because that's the way people should behave towards one another. I thought this person would fit right into a Dilbert cartoon.

I've done it.

Your Yes/No answers are confusing. Yes, I believe it's possible. And yes, the right thing is the right thing (or a right thing) no matter why or how it's done, but the wrong reasons are the wrong reasons, no matter what good may come of them. The reasons aren't wrong because of what they make you do, they are wrong because who they make you be.

I've found it more likely to do the wrong thing for the right reason....you know they say that no good deed goes unpunished. It's true. A friend & I did a good deed the other day that didn't hurt anyone, but has got us so tangled in such a web that we are tripping over it every time we turn around. It is really quite funny & will be okay later on, but for now we are laying low.

hunter: Than why didn't you just select the third option?

Yes. But I didn't mark your yes option, because I also agree with the statement after your no option. Sure, it was for the wrong reason, but it's still the right thing.

I had the same dilemma as hunter and phi, but ultimately picked "yes" cuz "yes" was my answer to your question, comments on the answers aside.

Brian, because I didn't agree with the statement. "Too many grey areas" doesn't express my opinion.

You've obviously been working hard on your options, but my advice is that the simpler you make them, the more likely they are to be acceptable. Putting words in people's mouths tends to limit the applicability of the option.

And I think you could easily have put the question in the question space, rather than in the explanation space and it would have made the whole survey better.

I left this on No Opinion, because I think it's a good question and some thought was put into it, regardless of the flaws.

For one thing, I've always felt that doing something "good" so that you can have a reward such as social praise, or a place in heaven, was the wrong reason. As a child this was my first problem with the notion of Christianity as it presented to me a the time. I was about 5 when I grappled with this cognitive dissonance and thought it didn't make sense that people should be called "good" if they were only doing good things for their own ultimate personal benefit.

You may think that what I did was the right thing, but I might have motivations which you find repulsive for doing it. I might

However, I find myself completly unable to come up with a reasonable scenario where this applies. So I'm voting 'too gray' even though I believe otherwise.

Topper: I have hung around a few Christians, and my understanding is that that they aren't behaving well so they can be rewarded... they are behaving well because someone has given them something and they feel obligated to behave well, out of thanks for the gift. The gift is a reward for being Christian, not for being a good person. Then you up and decide to be a good person, because you are a Christian.

(And actual Christians want to straighten me out here if I'm wrong?)

What if a racist driving through the Bronx stopped suddenly when a kid ran in front of the car, not because he cared about the child at all, but because he didn't want his car to be damaged.

uh...wha?

YES! It is very possible, and I've seen it. Well-meaning people do it all the time. So do narcissists.