Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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]
Machiavelli is the only political thinker whose name has come into common use for designating a kind of politics, which exists and will continue to exist independently of his influence, a politics guided exclusively by considerations of expediency, which uses all means, fair or foul, iron or poison, for achieving its ends – its end being the ...
A popular quote from the Heroides anticipates Machiavelli's "the end justifies the means". Ovid had written "Exitus acta probat" – the result justifies the means. Amores ("The Loves")
A means can be justified only by its end.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 over man.
After his exile from political life in 1512, Machiavelli took to a life of writing, which led to the publishing of his most famous work, The Prince.The book would become infamous for its recommendations for absolute rulers to be ready to act in unscrupulous ways, such as resorting to fraud and treachery, elimination of political opponents, and the use of fear as a means of controlling subjects ...
Only the end justifies the means, nothing else. Actions only acquire moral status as a means to an end; for Fletcher, the end must be the most loving result. When measuring a situation, one must consider the desired end, the means available, the motive for acting and the foreseeable consequences.
"The end justifies the means" is a legitimate assertion so long as all those affected by the means participate in identifying which ends are significant and accepting both those means and ends as legitimate, necessary, and proper. Most objections result from ignoring these conditions.
Machiavelli used those words, fortuna and virtù, literally and figuratively in both pieces to demonstrate that immorality is acceptable when the ends justify the means. In Mandragola , Machiavelli dramatically portrays these ideas by making the protagonist boast virtù and his leading lady encompass fortuna .