In ethics, do the ends ever justify the means?
By Wendy Garner <wlg51@backroads.net>
Do the ends ever justify the means? It most certainly does, depending on the situation. For example, I am taking the time to type this paper in order to receive credit; the ends (my grade) will justify the means (my effort in this paper). I am not sure that any person would attend college and try to make good grades if they did not have some idea that the hard work would be paidoff with a successful career. Finding a good job based on a college degree is a perfect example that the ends in fact do sometimes justify the means.
I am not trying to say that the ends always justify the means, because there are those people who work hard their whole life and end up on the streets, while bums who have never work a day in their life win the lottery. There are also people who smoke a pack of cigarettes and drink a pint of liquor every day and end up living to be 80 or 90, while the person who has exercised and ate right their whole life dies of a heart attack before they reach 50. Perhaps the most discouraging example that I can think off are those students that never crack a book and have perfect grades, while I study my ass off and can barely pull a 3.0 GPA. I am not sure how to explain why things like this happen, maybe some people are just lucky or maybe it is fate.
In conclusion, the ends do not always justify the means, but if I thought that the ends never justified the means, I can assure you that you would not be reading this paper, because I would be trying my luck and buying lottery tickets and not attending Lander University. To submit a comment, click here.
Lee Archie <larchie@philosophy.lander.edu>This paper replaces paper number 21 by the same author and title. Comments can only be submitted to this page. Sorry, but I couldn't figure out how to fix the original submission script at paper number 21.
Heather Ferguson <AddysmomF@netscape.net>Great job. Good examples.
Will Mulkey <wrmulkey@hotmail.com>Good paper! Sorry to hear about the studying difficulty.
Eric Howell <grayghost13@hotmail.com>Nice paper! I really agree with your points. Excellent work.
Karen <karen_long@email.com>Good job. This is the 2nd time I've read your paper.
Matt Wright <surfski8@hotmail.com>good paper
Kimberly Pitts <KLP103@hotmail>Good points! Enjoyed the paper.
jasonstansill <jasonstansill@hotmail.com>Good paper, I like your conclusion, it sounded familiar
missy kergosien <missc4@hotmail.com>I agree. Good paper!
Comments Closed <12.05.01>Further comments are voluntary.
Eric Doyle Knight <frruita@hotmail.com>Interesting points. They raise some intriguing questions.