The doctrine that the end justifies the means came to be used extensively in international politics when machiavelli incorporated it in his political writings, during the middle ages. A critical history dissects some of the myths and distortions that are already settling. Machiavelli said, the ends justify the means fact or myth. The end justifies the means simple english wikipedia, the free. The book details the different methods like assassinations, contrivances and destruction of property. The greek writer sophocles wrote the end excuses any evil. Who coined the political philosophy the end justifies the. What the statement the end justifies the means means to me is simply this. This cliche is usually quoted in the context of the ends dont justify the means, but in practice most folks seem to live as if the ends did justify the means even if the means involved sin. This is not an example of the work produced by our essay writing service. Definition of end justifies the means, the in the idioms dictionary. Examples of the view that cruelty well used is a political virtue. It means that if a goal is morally important enough, any method of getting it is acceptable.
We can rationalize any action if the motivation for the goal is strong enough. In simpler terms, this means that most anything is reasonable if it leads to an important and meaningful result. He advocated that national interest would justify all and any means which a country or nation might adopt to gain its political end. For example, studies indicate that when we praise effort over performance in the classroom, students end up actually doing better academically. Apr 06, 2012 when we say that the end justifies the means, then for us, the conclusion follows that the great revolutionary end spurns those base means and ways which set one part of the working class against. Does the end justify the means essay examples 1279 words cram. Thomas jefferson and the louisiana purchase authors. Heartless cia superiors try to undermine robert redfords cool in spy game. If both the means and the ends are equally noble and good, there is no question because the ends are justified by the means. What does the end justifies the means expression mean. The twelfth book details how to defeat a more powerful enemy by indirect means. Niccolo machiavelli never said, the ends justify the means, although he did allude to a complex version of the concept in his prince and other works. Can you provide some historical examples of the ends justify the means.
An example might be withholding information from a loved one so as not to upset them. Analyze why it is still relevant to leadership today. Most men and women are geniuses when it comes to justifying our behavior. When the means justify the ends, ethical consideration focuses on what you do, not the consequences of what youve done. Can it sometimes be right to use a bad means to achieve a good end. Niccolo machiavelli is one of the significant political and philosophical thinkers known by many of us. The end justifies the means is an expression that is often used in society to validate or excuse distasteful and objectionable actions undertaken by its people. Indeed, it admits that the means are actually unjustified by themselves. The means are irrelevant if the ends are positive enough to trump them.
The only problem with the op is with the word justifies, that word makes it a moral question. The end simply means that it is the end of a complex or simple goal. Aug 24, 2010 one of the biggest lies ever adopted as truth has been the philosophy that a good end is justified by any means necessarygood or bad. We need to create a revolution of people who reward others for doing the right thing. A characteristic behavior in todays society is the belief that the ends justifies the means. May 09, 2008 however, this also brings on moral and ethical controversy. The idea that the ends justify the means admits that there is something inherently wrong with the means. Most people have good intentions and wish to obtain praiseworthy goals ends but some forget, ignore, or try to justify using immoral methods means to accomplish those goals. The book also details on how to make it easier to capture the town by using again deceptive means like. Hence, the prince must take into account the actual realities. The end justifies the means idioms by the free dictionary. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The end justifies the means is a phrase of sergey nechayev, the 19th century russian revolutionary. The correct idiom is the end justifies the means, but the statement is inherently untrue.
This question has been asked for millennia, with the resulting answers rarely perfect in their finite form. Im an ethical egoist and therefore a consequentialist, but defining consequentialism as the end justifies the means is not objective given the meaning that that phrase has acquired. Therefore peace or fairness isnt exactly enough to simply justify that the end does not justify the mean because people who fight for freedom or fairness almost always take it away to attain it. My paper was on psychology and i was short the end justifies the means essay on deadline. End justifies the means, the idioms by the free dictionary. First, lets try to understand the sense in which the word justifies is used in the familiar statement that the end justifies the means.
World history chapter 15 renaissance and reformation. Justifies definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Dont the conditions of human life require some shadiness and deceit to achieve security and success. What is an example of the end justifies the means answers. It was later picked up and used to justify murderous acts by lenin and stalin. The wrong justification can be seen in some horrors in human history such as the holocaust. The phrase the ends justify the means means it is okay to do something wrong if the final result is something very good. Traditionally, focusing on means instead of ends leads to an ethics based on duties or rights. When we were young it was easy to assume that the end justifies the means. Perhaps killing your grandmother so you can inherit her estate to finance your movie. If theres no wwi, do any great powers try gaining additional chinese territory once china descends into warlordism in 1916. In short, the end justifies the means means that if you have to use questionably bad or in the case of science possibly, mad means actions, methods to bring about a goal you consider unquestionably good at the end of it all aka, the end, then your use of those questionable means is justified.
The end justifies the means is an ethical and political statement, it suggests that the worth of an action is determined from its outcome. The question whether the end justifies the means depends on the type of goal or end a person wants to achieve and the means they use. In that case, although the means war, deaths, brother fighting brother, destructionwere horrific, the end result was the banishment of slavery and the release of a race of people from bondage although history shows that that indeed was not the intention of the war. In many cases, i think its often a saying that is merely slung around by those driven and. In effect, the phrase is a justification for dispensing with all morality and principle in the passage towards a. The municipal machiavelli is a mostly satirical look at machiavellis master work. You can view samples of our professional work here. His poem does contain a line that can be translated as the result justifies the deed or the ends justify the means. Thats why americans explain away washington and jeffersons slaveowning as them being men of their time. What is meant by machiavellis belief that the end justifies the means. What is an example from history where the ends do not. It was later picked up and used to justify murderous acts by lenin and. If that means our ends arent achieved in our lifetime thats something that must be accepted.
Lydia davenport and paula martinez gutierrez lydia davenport and paula martinez gutierrez december 9, 2014. When a person says the ends justify the means they are saying that if the end result is noble enough, it will justify whatever measures are taken to achieve that goal. Mar 12, 2019 niccolo machiavelli is one of the significant political and philosophical thinkers known by many of us. She certainly thinks that the end justifies the means. He concluded that when it came to the exercise of power, a ruler should use any methods available to maintain stability.
The claim, then, is that although the means are unjustifiable in themselves, that a particular outcome that is achieved by them results in the justification of. There are many such examples of ends justify the means arguments. The end justifies the means is an old phrasing which dates way back in the 16th century and was formed from niccolo machiavellis famous saying men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand, because it belongs to everybody to see you, to few to come in touch with you. Apr 22, 2009 in other words, the end justifies the means, and this is what i will be arguing. Can you provide some historical examples of the ends. Say, for example, that the end you seek to complete is making a movie. Another important thing that goes hand and hand with the greater good is the saying that the end justifies the means in other words, at the beginning of an action i might not be able to.
You wanted a cookie, so you stole a cookie out of your younger siblings hands. Widely attributed to machiavellis the prince, which does reflect this philosophy but does not. Genesis 27 the ends justifying the means usually involves doing something wrong the means to achieve a positive end or goal and justifying the wrongdoing by pointing to a good outcome. The end does not justify the means we shouldnt encourage that thinking. For example, some students i have taught justified lying on their resume because it could help them get a job.
For although the act condemns the doer, the end may justify him see more related quotes. Definition of the end justifies the means in the dictionary. In that case, although the means war, deaths, brother fighting brother, destructionwere horrific, the end result was the banishment of slavery and the release of a race of people from bondage although history shows that that indeed was not the intention of. First dates are awkward, and if you want a first date to. Can you provide some historical examples of the ends justify the. Very often the end determines the means, and sometimes the means determines the end. Contents hide 1 the ends justify the means meaning. A machiavellian perspective a characteristic behavior in todays society is the belief that the ends justifies the means. One of the biggest lies ever adopted as truth has been the philosophy that a good end is justified by any means necessarygood or bad. In this case, the end is the final result and the means are what you use or do to get to the final result. What does the end justifies the means mean answers. The end justifies the means simple english wikipedia, the. The phrase means that there are no firm, abstract moral principles and that people should be cynically treated as tools to attain your personal ends. The end does not justify the means huffpost canada.
The saying, the end justifies the means, meaning that if a goal is morally important enough, any method of achieving it is acceptable. Breckinridge of kentucky, if republicanism was the end, statesrights was the means. Whether you agree or disagree with the below examples, they all represent how the end justifies the means thinking can drive human nature, for better or worse. Martin lawrence travels back in time in black knight. May 12, 2017 gandhi clearly did not believe that ends justify the means, and i agree with this conclusion in something like 99% of the ethical dilemmas we regularly face as human beings.
In effect, the phrase is a justification for dispensing with all morality and principle in the passage towards a successful conclusion. The end justifies the means definition is used to say that a desired result is so good or important that any method, even a morally bad one, may be used to achieve it. In general, the phrase the end justifies the means. The end justifies the means implies that the goal is more important than the way by which it is achieved. End justifies the means, the definition of end justifies the means. Does the end justify the means essay examples 1279 words. That said, there are plenty of modernday and historical examples, several of. Is it possible for the end to justify the means throughout the history of mankind there always were people, ideologies and organizations that used the phrase the end justifies the means as their motto or the leading principle. The kaz drone helps his winged monkeys fend off evil. It is impossible to say with certainty exactly where this expression comes from, but it seems like it has been a recurring idea throughout history and philosophy.
She was spying on her husband because she didnt trust him. Does that justify robbing a bank for the money to finance your dream. In other words, the end justifies the means, and this is what i will be arguing. In the prince, machiavelli is clearly warned against any attempt to turn what is, because machiavellis philosophy comes from the nature of men. Dec 20, 2016 niccolo machiavelli said, the ends justify the means. Mar 23, 2006 i dont agree that the american civil war is the example that you were looking for. That is an example of the ends justifying the means. The thirteenth book details how to commence sieges in towns. To justify their ends by some type of means sometimes involves doing a wrong thing when trying to achieve a positive end.
What does end justifies the means, the expression mean. Its immediate meaning is as follows if you have high, noble, important goal, you are free to resort to anything, however immoral it seems even to yourself. However sometimes people cannot see clearly what is sin and what isnt. Machiavelli gives a complex answer to this fundamental politic problem. Machiavelli is primarily known for the phrase the end justifies the means which has been continuously a subject of contention with regards to discussions and discourses today robertson, 2012. It usually implies that a moral goal may be achieved by. These are the types of people who most often employ ends justify the means thinking, which is exactly why those of us who do have principles must reject this way of thinking and pursue a more conscious manner of achieving our ends.
Niccolo machiavelli watched as french, spanish, and german armies wreaked havoc on italy in 14691527. America was built on slavery, american wealth was built on slavery since americans consider being rich a good thing, slavery was means that justified the ends. It was an excuse to perform illega actions as long as it was the for the better good. Those who have obtained a principality by wickedness, as well as from the discourses, that the concept of the end justifies the means was derived. This means actions people take are justified regardless of how they go about achieving their desired end result. What are some examples of when the ends justify the means.
They justify the wrong act by pointing to the outcome that was good. The end justifies the means simple english wikipedia. The end justifies the means essay the college study. Look at some of the things we see in this family as a result of believing that the end justifies the means. Justifies the means means that the end or goal is more important than how you got there. Is it possible for the end to justify the means essay. The idea is ancient, but it was not meant to justify unnecessary cruelty. How to use the end justifies the means in a sentence. The problem with the ends justify the means philosophy is that it puts the law into the hands of human beings, and makes the law subjective. For example, hes campaigning with illegal funds on the theory that if he wins the election the end will justify the means, or the officer tricked her into admitting. The end justifies the means definition of the end justifies. Niccolo machiavelli is the political philosopher who coined the philosophy that the end justifies the means. The end justifies the means definition in the cambridge.
What did machiavelli mean by the statement the end justifies the means. An example would be lying on a resume to get a good job and justifying the lie by saying the larger income will. Start studying world history chapter 15 renaissance and reformation. Throughout the history of mankind there always were people, ideologies and organizations that used the phrase the end justifies the means as their motto or the leading principle. For example, some students i have taught justified lying on their resume because it. Information and translations of the end justifies the means in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource. The end justifies the means because there is no good or bad. And critics arent thrilled with any of their holiday packages so. He became convinced that political unity and independence were ends that justified any. Apr, 2018 in 15, niccolo machiavelli, arguably the finest political theorist of his time, used his famous work the prince to tease out means and ends theory. End justifies the means, the definition of end justifies.
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