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This concept is exemplified by the famous aphorism, "the end justifies the means," variously attributed to Machiavelli or Ovid [8] i.e. if a goal is morally important enough, any method of achieving it is acceptable. [9] [10]
A means can be justified only by its end. But the end in its turn needs to be justified. But the end in its turn needs to be justified. From the Marxist point of view, which expresses the historical interests of the proletariat , the end is justified if it leads to increasing the power of man over nature and to the abolition of the power of man ...
Scholars often note that Machiavelli glorifies instrumentality in state building, an approach embodied by the saying, often attributed to interpretations of The Prince, "The ends justify the means". [45] Fraud and deceit are held by Machiavelli as necessary for a prince to use. [46]
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Situational ethics is thus a teleological or consequential theory, in that it is primarily concerned with the outcome or consequences of an action; the end. Fletcher proposed that loving ends justify any means. [4] Joseph Fletcher abandoned his theistic belief in his later life but never strayed away from his belief in situation ethics.
By adopting a "the ends justifies the means" approach, this would allow nine innocent people to be tortured as long as the tenth offered a full confession. A utilitarian would agree that the ends justify the means in that situation, while a deontologist would argue that those innocent lives should not be involved, and that a person should not ...
Because all rational agents rationally will themselves to be an end and never merely a means, it is morally obligatory that they are treated as such. [28] This does not mean that we can never treat a human as a means to an end, but that when we do, we also treat them as an end in themselves. [27]
I was looking for the article on the history of the expression, "The ends justify the means" and was redirected to this article. I really think the expression itself deserves its own article. Steve Dufour 01:21, 15 September 2008 (UTC) “Ends justify means” is at best a shorthand, and inaccurate, characterisation of consequentialism.