Mostly just replying to the OP:
Personally, I think your outward words and actions are the biggest factors in decency/morality, and motivation doesn't really matter at all. In the case of the first example, both men made a morally correct choice by donating to charity. Personally, I don't grade people on how much charity they give, so I wouldn't consider the larger donation to be "more moral." At this point in the equation, both men are equally moral.
James, however, didn't stop there. According to your example, he actively tried to make John feel inferior about his own donation. James almost certainly wouldn't want this done to him in kind, which makes example 1 a violation of the most basic moral tenet: The Golden Rule. The action of making John feel inferior is technically a separate action, since there are probably over 100 ways James could do that without it having anything to do with charity, so the morality of that action should be judged separately.
If James knows that John will feel upset and inferior about his smaller donation even if James says nothing, and James donates with that intention, then it might be a little foggier, but I would still say this violates the golden rule (albeit in a slightly different way).
I, for one, wouldn't want somebody taking advantage of a natural vulnerability I have, especially to do something petty and manipulative with the intention of upsetting me, and I doubt James would, either, so James has again violated TGR. Even though the donation itself is the thing upsetting John, fucking with his head like that is still a separate action from making the donation (even though they're the same act, making this example kind of weird). In that case, I would still separately judge the act of charity and the act of malice.
Buying shoes is morally neutral, and buying medicine for your kid is a moral obligation, so the women are equally moral in how they spent the money (in my opinion). The act of theft is equally immoral in both cases. The taking of the money and the spending are, again, separate actions. There's no real need to drag intentions into any of it.
Personally, I think your outward words and actions are the biggest factors in decency/morality, and motivation doesn't really matter at all. In the case of the first example, both men made a morally correct choice by donating to charity. Personally, I don't grade people on how much charity they give, so I wouldn't consider the larger donation to be "more moral." At this point in the equation, both men are equally moral.
James, however, didn't stop there. According to your example, he actively tried to make John feel inferior about his own donation. James almost certainly wouldn't want this done to him in kind, which makes example 1 a violation of the most basic moral tenet: The Golden Rule. The action of making John feel inferior is technically a separate action, since there are probably over 100 ways James could do that without it having anything to do with charity, so the morality of that action should be judged separately.
If James knows that John will feel upset and inferior about his smaller donation even if James says nothing, and James donates with that intention, then it might be a little foggier, but I would still say this violates the golden rule (albeit in a slightly different way).
I, for one, wouldn't want somebody taking advantage of a natural vulnerability I have, especially to do something petty and manipulative with the intention of upsetting me, and I doubt James would, either, so James has again violated TGR. Even though the donation itself is the thing upsetting John, fucking with his head like that is still a separate action from making the donation (even though they're the same act, making this example kind of weird). In that case, I would still separately judge the act of charity and the act of malice.
Buying shoes is morally neutral, and buying medicine for your kid is a moral obligation, so the women are equally moral in how they spent the money (in my opinion). The act of theft is equally immoral in both cases. The taking of the money and the spending are, again, separate actions. There's no real need to drag intentions into any of it.
Verbatim from the mouth of Jesus (retranslated from a retranslation of a copy of a copy):
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you too will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. How can you see your brother's head up his ass when your own vision is darkened by your head being even further up your ass? How can you say to your brother, 'Get your head out of your ass,' when all the time your head is up your own ass? You hypocrite! First take your head out of your own ass, and then you will see clearly who has his head up his ass and who doesn't." Matthew 7:1-5 (also Luke 6: 41-42)
Also, I has a website: www.RedbeardThePink.com
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you too will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. How can you see your brother's head up his ass when your own vision is darkened by your head being even further up your ass? How can you say to your brother, 'Get your head out of your ass,' when all the time your head is up your own ass? You hypocrite! First take your head out of your own ass, and then you will see clearly who has his head up his ass and who doesn't." Matthew 7:1-5 (also Luke 6: 41-42)
Also, I has a website: www.RedbeardThePink.com
