more from this thinker | more from this text
Full Idea
An attempted murder should be treated like a successful one, but with respect shown for the luck which saved him from total ruin.
Gist of Idea
Attempted murder is like real murder, but we should respect the luck which avoided total ruin
Source
Plato (The Laws [c.348 BCE], 877a)
Book Ref
Plato: 'The Laws', ed/tr. Saunders,Trevor J [Penguin 1970], p.397
A Reaction
The earliest reference to moral luck, I think. 'Repect' sounds vague, but it is asking judges to 'take it into consideration', which is quite practical. Attempted murderers are just as dangerous.
| 269 | Attempted murder is like real murder, but we should respect the luck which avoided total ruin [Plato] |
| 14063 | Sooner a good decision going wrong, than a bad one turning out for the good [Epicurus] |
| 5126 | A carelessly thrown brick is condemned much more if it hits someone [Smith,A, by Harman] |
| 20233 | Punishment has distorted the pure innocence of the contingency of outcomes [Nietzsche] |
| 4426 | A bad result distorts one's judgement about the virtue of what one has done [Nietzsche] |
| 23282 | If all that matters in morality is motive and intention, that makes moral luck irrelevant [Williams,B] |
| 3272 | Moral luck can arise in character, preconditions, actual circumstances, and outcome [Nagel] |
| 6700 | We can't criticise people because of unforeseeable consequences [Graham] |
| 20193 | Moral luck means our praise and blame may exceed our control or awareness [Zagzebski] |