These are phrases to absolve one of responsibility. I'm not going to say intentions don't matter. They are what got the ball rolling in the first place. But when the rubble has cleared and damage done, intentions aren't material and they don't give you a lick of an excuse.
Intentions don't matter between life and death. But too often the outcome is excused because of intent (Those police officers didn't mean to storm into the wrong house and kill the owner). If your lucky and the damage can be reversed or dampened, that is the only possible redemption. Accepting the excuse of intention is refusing responsibility.
This train of thought has me thinking. I don't like that it is true, but it is. Intention is a thought that is then put forth into action. The outcome of the intention is action. For instance if I was a sculpture and intended to make a vase but the outcome was a cup that would be the wrong intention, but it doesn't matter because the outcome was a cup. My heart was there but the outcome just didn't make it.
What would you do? Try again attempting to learn from the experience? Stop sculpting? In disappointment break the cup and throw it away? Those are all actions from intent as well.
To discipline a dog actions are rewarded or repremanded. But I know a few good trainers that say, "change the thought".
Thoughts are the product of intention. Changing the thought changes the intention and thereby changes the action. Punishing or rewarding intention (or a thought) isn't all that unknown. Trials on hate crimes do that. But judging the intent of a person is the wrong way to go about it. Judging on intent is wrong because the outcome can be extremely different from the intent. (Just like my friend meant to get me hot chocolate but poured coffee in with the powdered formula and gave me a coffee mocha). Yet training your own mind to change your intent, (like replacing negative thoughts with positive ones) can change the outcome. But it's the outcome that needs to be judged not the intent. Why? Because intent and outcome can be vastly different.
If the outcome is not intended, responsibility still needs to be assumed good or bad. The only way I know of to combat a bad outcome is knowledge. Learn from intentions that turn out bad or good. It's one of the most difficult things to take responsibility for because you didn't mean for it to happen. But the worst happened and it was because of an action taken.
To stand and say this was my fault takes courage when things go awry. Yet the term "my intentions were good" doesn't fly with me. If you can give me a reason why intent should be considered in an outcome I'd like to hear it. This is a subject I'm not able to see both sides on. If I started the chain of events to make something bad happen, then I need to take responsibility for it. Mistakes happen. Intenent and action don't always line up. But not taking responsibility for it is immaturity. Immaturity is a downfall of good intentions. Immaturity leads to more bad outcomes. Taking responsibility can stop short that path to hell.
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