Actions or Intentions? Which screams the loudest?

[ZethaPonderer 2,196]

I've been thinking long and hard on this one. Since I'm making up for the sheer stupidity of the previous topic I posted, I need to post this since this is relevant to my interest and hopefully will encourage a thought provoking philosophical discussion from differing perspectives.

It is an undeniable reality that Actions speak louder than words, but words do convey a sense of intention and what I've come to learn throughout my past. So to me, intentions mean everything. It is the driving force that causes your actions to occur so to me it screams the loudest. Without intentions, what would your actions be?

Can an action be done with zero intention? Possibly, but consider me a skeptic since there will still be a sliver of intention that must've caused that action to be done in the first place.

That's just how I come to perceive, but I would like to see some thought provoking discussion from differing sides for which screams the loudest.  

Edited June 24, 2017 by ZethaPonderer

[Props Valroa 25,971]

An action that can be done with zero intention is an accident. Like tripping or something.

[ZethaPonderer 2,196]

Alright, let's Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney this st cause this is fun and I want people to have FUN with this one unlike my last topic.

41 minutes ago, Twilight Sparkle . said:

An action that can be done with zero intention is an accident. Like tripping or something.

HOLD IT!!!

Claiming that an action with zero intention as an accident is such a cop-out move. Surely, there must be a reason for why this action still occurred despite being an accident. Can the lack of awareness thus leading the person towards being careless, be considered an intention?

Yes I am among those who's guilty to maintain a firm belief that "Everything happens for a Reason" so surely there must be a reason for such a mysterious phenomenon like this.

[Guest]

Actions, of course. Actions come from intentions, only having thoughts about something is not enough.

[Props Valroa 25,971]

10 hours ago, ZethaPonderer said:

Alright, let's Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney this st cause this is fun and I want people to have FUN with this one unlike my last topic.

HOLD IT!!!

Claiming that an action with zero intention as an accident is such a cop-out move. Surely, there must be a reason for why this action still occurred despite being an accident. Can the lack of awareness thus leading the person towards being careless, be considered an intention?

Yes I am among those who's guilty to maintain a firm belief that "Everything happens for a Reason" so surely there must be a reason for such a mysterious phenomenon like this.

I don't think so. An intention in my view is something that must be something you do that you are aware of, and take action because of it. 

[cmarston1 5,951]

Actions matter much more to me than intentions.

[SFyr 1,982]

@ZethaPondererI think there's a missing piece there, especially since actions (or results) can occur without intent, from what I understand of it. Like, lack of awareness being the result of an accident seems to be devoid of intent on the part of the person, but, it still comes from who/what/how they are. I think this is separate from intent.

Personally, I see it more like this. Actions speak the loudest, sure, but they can also be very telling of the person in general; often, actions arise from people's habits, how they understand/instinctively interact with the world, and judging people on them has some basis because it judges them based on how they've carried themselves and built themselves into being. A person who is terrible at complimenting people is someone who's probably not put a ton into practicing it, and someone who comes off as rude or insensitive is probably someone who either doesn't show a strong value for empathy/pleasantry in interacting with people, or hasn't put enough effort/time into developing it yet. I don't think there's a solid dismissal of actions for being "just how we are," since so much of how we act, think, or behave in general is the product of environment, habit, and our own self-guided development as people. The person who dismisses their own faults/strengths as "just how they are" kinda misses how much control we have over ourselves.

MEANWHILE. Intention seems to be the truest picture of who we are, in my mind. It's also the thing we can never truly see as outsiders, just as we will never 100% understand the person we're considering. I tend to hold people more to their intentions rather than their actions, as quite often, you get bad actions from good/neutral intentions, where actions are only bad because the person acting them out doesn't understand something or another. Additionally, actions tend to be judged from the perspective of what result they have, while they're committed based on a prediction or evaluation. And, this prediction/evaluation, the true core of actions from the actor side, are guided by intent. So, you're a lot closer to judging the person themselves if you go by intent.

 

So yeah. I think intentions matter a lot more if you're judging people for who they are, but actions can still be telling of who they've been or how they've taken charge of their life. But, I do think it's possible for some actions/results to occur without intent, but that depends on where you're drawing the line. Someone takes a step forward with intent, however small, but someone trips without intent. That lack of awareness is habit if nothing else, but more likely situational--an "action" attributed to them when their intent did not include or effect it in isolation.

[Aurora Wolf 2,354]

Definitely actions. That's why it's not very nice to trash talk people.

[SerenitySeeker 13]

I think that actions, definetely.

[ZethaPonderer 2,196]

On 6/24/2017 at 8:29 AM, Twilight Sparkle . said:

I don't think so. An intention in my view is something that must be something you do that you are aware of, and take action because of it. 

OBJECTION!!!

To quote Miles Edgeworth, "I object! That was... Objectionable!"

Nah, but seriously your point is strong for me to counter effectively when I ponder if UN-intent is equivalent to Intent. It's almost debating whether inaction is still considered an action. Such a bizarre, mysterious paradox.

On 6/24/2017 at 8:57 AM, SFyr said:

@ZethaPonderer

I think there's a missing piece there, especially since actions (or results) can occur without intent, from what I understand of it. Like, lack of awareness being the result of an accident seems to be devoid of intent on the part of the person, but, it still comes from who/what/how they are. I think this is separate from intent.

Personally, I see it more like this. Actions speak the loudest, sure, but they can also be very telling of the person in general; often, actions arise from people's habits, how they understand/instinctively interact with the world, and judging people on them has some basis because it judges them based on how they've carried themselves and built themselves into being. A person who is terrible at complimenting people is someone who's probably not put a ton into practicing it, and someone who comes off as rude or insensitive is probably someone who either doesn't show a strong value for empathy/pleasantry in interacting with people, or hasn't put enough effort/time into developing it yet. I don't think there's a solid dismissal of actions for being "just how we are," since so much of how we act, think, or behave in general is the product of environment, habit, and our own self-guided development as people. The person who dismisses their own faults/strengths as "just how they are" kinda misses how much control we have over ourselves.

MEANWHILE. Intention seems to be the truest picture of who we are, in my mind. It's also the thing we can never truly see as outsiders, just as we will never 100% understand the person we're considering. I tend to hold people more to their intentions rather than their actions, as quite often, you get bad actions from good/neutral intentions, where actions are only bad because the person acting them out doesn't understand something or another. Additionally, actions tend to be judged from the perspective of what result they have, while they're committed based on a prediction or evaluation. And, this prediction/evaluation, the true core of actions from the actor side, are guided by intent. So, you're a lot closer to judging the person themselves if you go by intent.

 

So yeah. I think intentions matter a lot more if you're judging people for who they are, but actions can still be telling of who they've been or how they've taken charge of their life. But, I do think it's possible for some actions/results to occur without intent, but that depends on where you're drawing the line. Someone takes a step forward with intent, however small, but someone trips without intent. That lack of awareness is habit if nothing else, but more likely situational--an "action" attributed to them when their intent did not include or effect it in isolation.

OBJECTION!!!

To quote Miles Edgeworth, "I was hoping to come up with a question while I was objecting... I didn't."

Nah, just kidding I have some.

If actions speak louder than intentions, then does this mean that a hypocrite can easily get away with their crimes by simply acting the complete opposite of what their intent is to get something out of it based on their own self-interest? If this is the case, then oh boy what a world we live in. Hypocrites rule the world and are reeking havoc. D:

This is why I cater to intentions, because sure your actions may speak loud, but your intention is a symbol of proof to show the consistency of the loudness of your actions. Sure it may come across as judging, but that also depends on where we draw the line as well. If we judge people based on self-defense then there's nothing wrong with that.

I think I may have found the missing piece but correct me if I'm wrong. It's being steadfast or consistent with your actions. If you're consistent, your intentions will for the most part be shown through your actions. Is there a disagreement to this statement?

Other than those arguments, I agree with most of them SFyr. Very Enlightening.

On 6/24/2017 at 11:02 AM, Princess Aurora Wolf said:

Definitely actions. That's why it's not very nice to trash talk people.

HOLD IT!!!

Ahh, but do we WANT to trash talk people? Especially to those who deserve it under our own perception?

Edited June 25, 2017 by ZethaPonderer

[Dreambiscuit 8,021]

It's true that carrying out an intelligent plan is the result of intention and so the latter is instrumental. Spontaneity can bring about the best results though when we don't overthink things. When I make plans they don't always see fruition and it bothers me, so as much as intention has an important place, it has the side effect of feeling like failure when it isn't acted upon. Action doesn't have this effect unless the action brings about some harm, intended or otherwise. 

Some of the biggest turning points in my life are the result of spontaneous decision. When I was little I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I forgot about these plans until I was much older, when I had an opportunity to take a shot at it. Even though it was just for fun and more of a nod to my younger self I ended up realizing this long-dormant dream and it changed the course of my life. In this case it was an intention that became a spontaneous action. How's that for mixing things up?  

 

[EpicEnergy 22,064]

Intentions are the thoughts behind the actions and are therefore unseen because they are thoughts, whereas the actions are the result of the intentions and are therefore seen because they are the results; thus, I think actions scream louder than intentions.

[Early Sunsets 2,106]

People can and do easily lie about intentions, so actions are much louder. Something you have to search very carefully for isn't loud.

[Stone Cold Steve Jobs 22,410]

Actions are more concrete. If you try to condemn someone for a bad intention you thought they had, how do you know for sure they had that intention? You can find intentions through actions, but not actions through intentions.

[Splashee 28,537]

Actions screams the loudest. It is what you do that changes everything.

[Pandora 38,004]

Actions> it’s what Steve says 

+ having experienced some constant trashtalk by others made me change my views on people who are pretty cool when if they didn’t do that in bad intentions I could have befriended all!  

Actions usually come with bad intentions unless they state they are sorry for their actions imo (forgive me if I sound silly I just woke up lol)

[Fasu 550]

33 minutes ago, Splashee said:

Actions screams the loudest. It is what you do that changes everything.

This! Intention at it's own is quite incapable to change anything - espicially if it's only inside one's mind.

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,671]

Actions -- by astronomical margins. If one's intentions are as true as they say, they would do their due diligence and then some to see the results they intended.

[Brony Number 42 9,898]

I can intend to excercise, but it means nothing if I don't take action.

[Clawdeen 12,109]

I’d have to say intention. 

[DubWolf 16,574]

If I scream pretty loudly that I will play the piano very quietly, I'd say the intentions are pretty loud  .

eeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Edited November 21, 2022 by DubWolf

[They call me Loyalty 1,941]

A thoughtful action..

[Splashee 28,537]

On 2017-06-24 at 3:53 AM, ZethaPonderer said:

Can an action be done with zero intention?

Mixing consciousness with quantum mechanics, it is possible to do an action, then cancel it, without ever doing it. You'll get that sense that you did it, but it wasn't real. However, it was real, you did it, but it never happened.

Now, that would work if 90% of YouTube videos were correct about quantum mechanics, but they are not.

[Iforgotmybrain 3,474]

Intentions without actions to back them up are worthless.

Edited October 25, 2023 by Iforgotmybrain