Abstract
Some philosophers believe that a change in motive alone is sometimes sufficient to bring about a change in the deontic status (rightness or wrongness) of an action. I refer to this position as âweak motivismâ, and distinguish it from âstrongâ and âpartial motivismâ. I examine a number of cases where our intuitive judgements appear to support the weak motivistâs thesis, and argue that in each case an alternative explanation can be given for why a change in motive brings about (or, in some cases, appears to bring about) a change in deontic status.