What makes an act "good" or "evil"?

Question:

What makes an act "good" or "evil"?

Does the act have any inherent qualities, or does the underlying motivation determine everything?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Good question. I think there is no such thing as good or evil "out there." Good and evil are ALWAYS subjective interpretations. Thus, this question cannot be answered, because it requires that the abstractions of "good" & "evil" have objective values.

Here's how I reach this conclusion:
Motivation can't be the sole factor, as this would allow people to commit horrible atrocities if they believed it was for the good (witch-burnings, Holocaust, Inquisition, etc.).

However,it's impossible to pinpoint a more "objective" determining factor. I can't point to religious rules, since different religions and spiritual perspectives have different -- and often conflicting -- rules. The only thing that seemed logical to me was that evil actions are based on disdain or lack of concern for other sentient beings, while good acts stem from connectedness and concern for other beings. These are subjective and "motivational" factors, though.

So this makes me think maybe there are no inherent qualities. Maybe, though we all "know" good and evil when we see it, there is no way to characterize it from a perspective outside of the individual who perceives it.