What matters more, intention or result?

[zemo]

I'd say intent can mitigate, but it's still result that matters most. If I shoot someone in cold blood vs am screwing around with a gun and it goes off, killing someone, the victim is dead either way. There, the intent can mitigate some, but it's still the result that matters, and I'd be facing a trail (as I should) either way.

That's perfectly fine. The argument can't ever be "I didn't want this to happen, so it's not my fault!" anyway. The problem is when people start acting as if it is all black and white.

[Corrina]

There are two different discussions here.

One is about harm done physically or emotionally in real life. And the other is about artistic merit and intention.

The first, I'm much more of "doesn't matter what you meant, the result is terrible," and actions are far more important than words.

The second is a lot trickier. Art can wound emotionally. Say Wonder Woman #7, as a mild example. I'm not wounded, I'm unhappy and a little sad about it but I think the intentions of the creator went to "well, this is a good story for me," and was sort of blind to the implications of their tale. But art doesn't exist in a vacuum, so there are implications.

People should treat each other as if the actions matter, not the words.

Art is another matter.

[C.B. Nerdlinger]

Basically, the result is important in judging the art, but the intention is important in judging the artist.

[Erica J Heflin]

I also think that it depends on the severity of the consequence of the action. In day-to-day life I find a lot of results fall short but intentions are well-meaning, and because those results don't have severe or long-term consequence I can take the intention for it's true value. However, in many of the examples being discussed, the results are so extreme that those results overpower the intent.

[C.B. Nerdlinger]

It's like when my mom washed my Brave Heart Lion Care Bear Cousin. She intended for him to be clean, but the result was his mane became a frizzy fro. It was horrible! But I forgave her.

[jhota]

if it wasn't for luck, we'd not have penicillin or gelignite. but, as others have pointed out, we also have accidental homicide.

so i think the answer is intention.

we, as human beings, can only control so much of our surroundings. that includes other human beings. therefore, we should accept serendipity as an unknowable constant without any positive or negative inherent value. following from this, we can control our actions, making our intent and activity what matters.

[Morrison_Lad]

I think if you intentions are pure in your heart, but the result is eventually bad, that you haven't done anything wrong but you are still responsible.

Sometimes we make mistakes, or we act without full knowledge, or we just do something that doesn't work out. But if you were trying to do something good, you haven't acted wrongly, just unfortunately.

That's how I feel, anyways.

[Ziggy Stardust]

As has been said, intent and successful results vs failing can sometimes be subjective.

As Zemo stated, Azz surely meant to tell an entertaining story. Some feel he has succeeded, some say he failed, some admit they'd like it in an Elseworlds environment, but not as part of the mainstream.

So, was there an intent that failed in execution?

[Morrison_Lad]

As has been said, intent and successful results vs failing can sometimes be subjective.

As Zemo stated, Azz surely meant to tell an entertaining story. Some feel he has succeeded, some say he failed, some admit they'd like it in an Elseworlds environment, but not as part of the mainstream.

So, was there an intent that failed in execution?

I'm fairly certain we can assume that he wasn't trying to write a tremendously unpopular story. So, the intent was to write something that not only moved the overall story he wants to tell forward, but that he also wanted the story to be popular, or at least provocative.

The subjectivity of whether or not it was successful, however, makes success impossible to nail down. Especially in small on-line communities. There's no way to judge how the 10s of 1000s of readers felt. We can only see how the dozens who post on-line felt. Also, keep in mind that people who feel negatively about something -- anything -- are far more likely to post about it.

[RobStaeger]

Basically, the result is important in judging the art, but the intention is important in judging the artist.

This, exactly.