Does The End Justify The Means? by Mortimer J. Adler‚ Ph.D. Does the end justify the means? Can it sometimes be right to use a bad means to achieve a good end? Don’t the conditions of human life require some shadiness and deceit to achieve security and success? First‚ let’s try to understand the sense in which the word "justifies" is used in the familiar statement that "the end justifies the means." After that we can consider the problem you raise about whether it is all right to employ
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The end justifies the means 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. In effect‚ the phrase is a justification for dispensing with all morality and principle in the passage towards a successful conclusion. The Greek writer Sophocles wrote in Electra 409 BC “the end excuses any evil." This was a thought later considered‚ by the Roman poet Ovid‚ ‘the result justifies the deed’ (c
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so dear to her heart‚ the question arises to us whether Sethe acted out of true love or selfishness. The fact that Sethe’s act is irrational can easily be decided upon. A question I ask my self to justify her doing is does Sethe kill her baby girl because she wants to save the baby from slavery or does Sethe end her daughter’s life because of a selfish refusal to reenter a life of slavery? By examining the complexities of Sethe’s character it can be said that she is a woman who chooses to love her
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(How does Aristotle justify the existence of Slavery?) Aristotle was one of the greatest philosophical minds of ancient Greece. He is one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy and his writings were the first to create a comprehensive system of Western philosophy‚ encompassing morality and aesthetics‚ logic and science‚ politics and metaphysics. Even though there were a lot of things happening during his time‚ and he wrote as much as he could before his time on this
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1. How did Carnegie justify the accumulation of wealth? Carnegie believed that people were born with certain attributes that would lead them to be successful in their lifetime. He also mentioned the idea that we as human beings should accept the conditions that are placed in front of us and work around them to achieve the impossible. Also he believed that it is up to one’s ability and energy that will allow them to produce the wealth that they seek for themselves. 2. What are three ways Carnegie
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Capital Punishment: Does the End Justify the Means? If... he has committed murder‚ he must die. In this case‚ there is no substitute that will satisfy the legal requirements of legal justice.There is no sameness of kind between death and remaining alive even under the most miserable conditions‚ and consequently there is no equality between crime and the retribution unless the criminal is judicially condemned and put to death." Immanuel Kant. About 2000 men‚ women‚ and teenagers currently wait
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means. Through the portrayal of characters such as Jay Gatsby and Myrtle Wilson‚ coupled with their eventual demise of these characters that sought to achieve the American Dream‚ we are able to see the fact that Fitzgerald does not subscribe to the saying that the ends justify the means. Fitzgerald’s opinion on the end not justifying the means is clearly reflected through the main protagonist of the novel Gatsby. Gatsby’s “end”‚ was to achieve his American Dream which revolved around both attaining
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Rodjanét Williams History 101 Professor Saul Panski April 22‚ 2013 To Justify War or Not to Justify War? That is the Question On May 11‚ 1846‚ James K. Polk delivered his address to Congress requesting a Declaration of War on the Republic of Mexico. President Polk justified his war by saying in his message that Mexico had attacked American troops and invaded the United States. He also brought up the issue that initially brought about all of the tensions between the U.S. and Mexico‚ which was
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Does “the end justify the means”? Does “The end Justify the means”. In the movie‚ Mississippi Burning‚ the end justifies the means in a way because when you think about it most of the time there are certain limitations to getting what you want. In the movie the only way to get the Ku Klux Klan to confess and give each other to the police was to trick them and make them think that the Ku Klux Klan was after them. In other occasions around the world at the time it was not always necessary to hurt
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on whether the end justifies the means of experiments conducted on animals for the development of drugs for humans. There have been many discoveries developed through this process‚ although there are also many negative outcomes this method has encountered (Cohan & Regan‚ 2001). This essay will discuss the human benefits received and the negative impacts on both humans and animals. By analysing these three aspects‚ the evidence provided will evaluate whether the end does justify the means of this method
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