Is Motive more important than Truth?

Question

Is Motive more important than Truth?

Answer 1

Depends on the situation i guess.

Its a confusing question with no proper answer.

Answer 2

depends on the situation.

Answer 3

Kent Hovind and Ken Ham believe so, if they aren't just deluded fools. That can't be true. Knowing the truth is much more important than any human motives for trying to hide it. Truth is beyond petty human motives.

Answer 4

well, there're both important but it all depends what situation your in. u have to ask your self that question and decide.

:)

hope that helps

Answer 5

truth1 : something (as a need or desire) that causes a person to act

motive 1 aarchaic : fidelity, constancy b: sincerity in action, character, and utterance

2 a (1): the state of being the case : fact (2): the body of real things, events, and facts : actuality (3)often capitalized : a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality b: a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true <truths of thermodynamics> c: the body of true statements and propositions

3 a: the property (as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or reality bchiefly British : true 2 c: fidelity to an original or to a standard

before i answered your question, i defined each word...which thankfully solidified what i had initially thought instead of negating it...which sometimes does happen cause i'm silly. what i found was that, while truth being accepted and followed, is still based on reality of someone/something else. whether it's our country's laws, the bible, jesus, allah, the folks who are pissed that people can't pick up their dogs' p**p and they step in it, bike messengers....their TRUTH is subjective to a certain extent, defined by laws or mere convienance. truth can be swayed. the "truth" to the democrates is way different than the "truth" to the republicans. while MOTIVE is at least, in its simplest form, honest. it comes from a need or a desire which comes from deep within us...whether from greed, love, fear, empathy. it's much more personal.

Answer 6

I do not believe that any motive however strong and persuasive can be more important than what we believe is the truth of a situation ultimately leading up to Truth. I for instance can do justice to by return something that I believe belongs to someone. I have acted upon the motive that I for one am aware of, that I believe is right, and therefore just, that I understand does not stand against common understand of Truth, or Justice and Right. My motive here is not the Justice itself, but is just by its nature, and therefore points to the right direction in my mind, i.e. my sense of absolute truth.

There can be all sorts of motives in the world, all equally compelling and influential, but it is for me to choose the right motives as my reasons to proceed into things even when there is apparently only motivating reason available I must stop and wait for my mind to find a right reason. I can for instance do something to earn some money, and money being the only motive in my mind. Now due to a very flimsy nature of my understanding of my motive, I might learn to be content with narrow goals, and I might even learn to do dodgy deals, but if I am aware of the fact of the service I provide, I might start to realise the moral, ethical and interpersonal value of my actions. I might feel a sense of satisfaction within.

Answer 7

Both are insignificant compared to the action itself. The motive is the reason for and truth is the statement of.

Answer 8

Sometimes truth hurts, and if your motive is not to hurt someone by not telling the truth then yes. In many cases I think that it is the motives behind an action that means more than the action itself.

Answer 9

I do not find any comparison in your question. We do need a motive to do jobs but when we depart from the truth, there

is no way back easily. I am sure you have not explained yourself properly. The two are incomparable.

Answer 10

I don't think you can separate the two. Motive simply broadens the question to include "what truth". It isn't a simple relationship. Al Gore, advocating for a reduction in our carbon footprint, has been criticized  on the basis of his motivation, but that does not alter the validity  global warming one way or another.  However, what we should do about it is much more ambiguous. The truth of it will depend on our motivation which guides us towards the "appropriate" truth.

Example, we may be motivated to do nothing- the truth is that we realize that we have had our chance on this planet and feel it is only fair that another species gets a chance to run things.

Answer 11

yes i would say because if the motive is for good or if it is helping someone then telling lies is equal to telling truth...

so it depends on the circumstances.......

Answer 12

I think motive is more important than truth, no one knows truth anyway.no one has realized it.....at the moment, "truth" is a whole lot of empty concepts, subjective with labels and idiosyncratic meaning people attatch to "truth." sorry i am buddhist so "truth" or ultimate truth is nirvana......and to realize that  you need much,much wisdom and purity of mind.

thereofre motive is mre something important, as it's in your control, something you can deal with NOW.

all our actions, inaction, speech or body language comes from our intention/motive. if you have a desire to hurt someone, but you want to be honest, you will end up being honest in a very brutal way, or in a way that is not tactful, therefore hurting other person's feeelings more.

Here is a buddhist quote:

" We are what we think.

All that we are arises with our thoughts.

With our thoughts we make the world.

Speak or act with an impure mind

      and trouble will follow,

      just as the wheel follows

      the ox that draws the cart."

In short, yes, motive (directly as a result of intention which comes from thought) is more important that truth.

You will render a "truth" that is informative to the situation or person, and considerate of the emotions involved in the situation at the same time.

Answer 13

Pragmatically speaking, yes.

Answer 14

Oddly enough, yes. Both vary depending on the point of view, but of the two, I would choose motive as the more important. Motive implies intent, and in all but the most extreme cases, intent guides our actions and most of our reactions.

However, surely there is a more appropriate choice than just these two.

Answer 15

Motive is part of the truth. It always depends on the situation when judging someone. The truth is the most important thing though.

Answer 16

I think truth is the most important of all. It has to be one of the greatest virtues of all. So, no, i dont believe that motive is more important. To have motive isn't always a good thing because if you do something to another person and motive drives you to do it, then this is not a good thing at all. Whereas, although sometimes the truth can hurt, at least its honest...

Answer 17

No  Truth trumps motive every time.

Answer 18

Correct me if I'm wrong, but motive is the reason to do something and to reveal your motive, don't you have to tell the truth? Other wise you do not know the true motive and no truth has been spoken. This almost sounds redundant.