The road to hell is paved with good intentions

The road to hell is paved with good intentions is a proverb or aphorism. An alternative form is "hell is full of good meanings, but heaven is full of good works".[1]

Origin

The saying is thought to have originated with Saint Bernard of Clairvaux who wrote (c. 1150), "L'enfer est plein de bonnes volontés et désirs" (hell is full of good wishes and desires).[2] An earlier saying occurs in Virgil's Aeneid: "facilis descensus Averno (the descent to hell is easy)".[3]

Meaning

One meaning of the phrase is that individuals may have the intention to undertake good actions but nevertheless fail to take action.[4][5] This inaction may be due to procrastination, laziness or other subversive vice.[6] As such, the saying is an admonishment that a good intention is meaningless unless followed through.[7]

A different interpretation of the saying is wrongdoings or evil actions are often masked by good intentions, or even that good intentions, when acted upon, may have unforeseen bad consequences. An example is the introduction of alien species such as the Asian carp, which has become a nuisance due to unexpected proliferation and behaviour.[8]

Studies

Psychological studies of the effect of intention upon task completion by professors Peter Gollwitzer, Paschal Sheeran and Sheina Orbell indicate that there is some truth in the proverb.[9] Perfectionists are especially prone to have their intentions backfire in this way.[10] When judging intentions, people are more likely to interpret good intentions for their own actions than they are for those of others.[11]

Attempts to improve the ethical behaviour of groups are often counter-productive. If legislation is used then people will observe the letter of the law rather than improving the desired behaviour. During negotiation, groups that are encouraged to understand the point of view of the other parties do worse than those whose perspective is not enlightened. The threat of punishment may worsen ethical behaviour rather than improve it.[12] Studies of business ethics indicate that most wrongdoing is not due directly to wickedness but is performed by people who did not plan to err.[13]

Stephen Garrard Post, writing about altruism, suggests that good intentions are often not what they seem and that mankind normally acts from less worthy, selfish motives—"If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, it is partly because that is the road they generally start out on."[14]

Artistic references

Authors who have used the phrase include, Lord Byron, Samuel Johnson,[15] Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Sir Walter Scott,[16] Søren Kierkegaard, and Karl Marx.[17]

In the movie, Highway to Hell, the phrase is taken literally to create one particular scene. The Good Intentions Paving Company has a team of Andy Warhols who grind good-intentioned souls into pavement. "I was only sleeping with my husband's boss to advance his career", says one.[18]

The phrase appears in the song "4 Minutes" by Madonna on her 2008 album Hard Candy.

The phrase is also used as the title for a song by Metalcore band In Fear and Faith.

A version of the phrase is used in the song "Road to Hell" by Bruce Dickinson.

The phrase is used by Benjamin Sisko in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "In the Pale Moonlight" regarding his actions in "tricking" the Romulan Empire to join the United Federation of Planets in war against the Dominion.[19]

The phrase was also used as the title of the 2009 film 'Hell's Pavement' (Dir. Andy Kemp) in which the good intentions of a social care system critically failed to meet the needs of a child in foster care. The film won three international awards including the coveted 'People's Choice' award at the 2010 Beloit International Film Festival.[20]

The phrase "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" appears in the song, Mr. Intentional by Lauryn Hill (MTV unplugged 2.0) on her second album released in 2002

A parody of the phrase appears in the song "Hum Hallelujah" by Fall Out Boy.

Ki Swan from Video Game High School (VGHS) uses the phrase.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "the road to hell is paved with good intentions", Proverbs, Infobase Publishing, 2007, p. 234, ISBN 9780816066735
  2. ↑ Ammer, Christine (1997), The American Heritage dictionary of idioms, ISBN 9780395727744
  3. ↑ Mawr, Mrs E. B. (1885), "Hell is paved with good intentions", Analogous Proverbs In Ten Languages, Elliot Stock
  4. ↑ The road to hell is paved with good intentions. The American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy (Third ed.) (Dictionary.com/Houghton Mifflin Company). 2005. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  5. ↑ The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus (Third ed.) (Dictionary.cambridge.org/Cambridge University Press). 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  6. ↑ Collis, Harry; Risso, Mario (1992), "The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions", 101 American English proverbs: understanding language and culture through commonly used sayings, Lincolnwood, Ill: Passport Books, ISBN 9780844254128
  7. ↑ Bowden, Charles L., editor; Burstein, Alvin George, editor (1983). Psychosocial Basis of Health Care. Williams & Wilkins. p. 98. ISBN 0-683-00993-1.
  8. ↑ Kalman, Izzy (August 16, 2010), "Principle Number One: The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions", Psychology Today, Resilience to Bullying
  9. ↑ Gollwitzer, Peter; Sheeran, Paschal (2006-05-30), "Implementation intentions and goal achievement", Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 38, ISBN 9780120152384
  10. ↑ Powers, T. A. (2005), "Implementation Intentions, Perfectionism, and Goal Progress: Perhaps the Road to Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions", Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 31 (7): 902–912, doi:10.1177/0146167204272311
  11. ↑ Kruger, Justin; Gilovich, Thomas (2004), "Actions, Intentions, and Self-Assessment: The Road to Self-Enhancement Is Paved with Good Intentions", Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 30 (3): 328–339, doi:10.1177/0146167203259932, PMID 15030624
  12. ↑ Messick, David (2006-07-11), "The Road to Hell", Ethics in groups 8, pp. 273–274, ISBN 9780762313006
  13. ↑ Nash, Laura L. (1993), Good intentions aside: a manager's guide to resolving ethical problems, ISBN 9780875844299
  14. ↑ Post, Stephen Garrard (2002), Altruism & altruistic love, Oxford University Press, p. 203, ISBN 9780195143584
  15. ↑ "Hell is paved with good intentions." April 14, 1775 Boswell, James (1791). Life of Samuel Johnson II.
  16. ↑ Pell, Robert Conger (1857), Milledulcia, p. 89
  17. ↑ Marx, Karl. "Seven, Section 2". Das Kapital The Production of Surplus-Value — Der weg zur Hölle ist jedoch mit guten Absichten One. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  18. ↑ Muir, John Kenneth (2011), Horror Films of the 1990s, McFarland, p. 236, ISBN 9780786440122
  19. ↑ Fields, Allan; Taylor, Michael, Teleplay; Lobl, Victor, Director (January 26, 1999), In the pale moon light script, line 600, retrieved February 25, 2014
  20. ↑ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1388778/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1> "Hell's Pavement"]. IMDB. 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2014.