Originally Posted by
Scow2
This is a Deontological approach to morality that doesn't quite hold up to scrutiny. It's also not true. Someone who kills thousands and does save millions doing so, with the motivation of the killing being the salvation of the others, is a Hero. An act of evil is an act of evil - but a person is judged by the net result of all their actions, not a single one. But it's easy to focus on the 'evil' ones and discard the 'good' ones out-of-hand without actually appraising the result.
And it's not so much Destined Alignment vs. Alignment by Actions - they're both Alignment by Actions, but recognize that Alignment is determined by Cosmic Forces From Above, not irrelevant personal feelings.
Someone who's deliberate behavior results in a net growth of the influence of Good in the world (As a result of their actions, not as a reaction to their actions - A genocidal maniac isn't Good because the rest of the world is so collectively horrified by his actions that they straighten up... unless, possibly, if his actions were taken deliberately to create that reaction)