"Mens rea" and "actus reus."
I understand that these are Latin phrases. I understand that these are esoteric legal terms.
These should not be esoteric terms. I shouldn't have just learned these terms when I was thirty, and because I'm a weird nerd.
These are foundational ethical concepts.
The "mens rea" is the whole reason why Alec Baldwin was only facing eighteen months in prison as opposed to life in prison.
The guilty act and the guilty mind are important. One could argue that there are cases in which the guilty mind is more important in assessing the moral character of a person.
I'd give my left testicle if I could reliably never have an ethical debate with a person who hasn't considered the "mens rea" again.