HELP ME!! IM STUCK ON THIS AND IM GOING INSANE!! any ideas what this means?? read on 4 more info..?

Question

whats ur understanding of the philosophy "the end justifies the means"? it seems all jiberish to me!!

and could i have 2 examples of situations in which you agree and disagree with this philosophy

thanks!!

Answer 1

It's kind of similar to doing the lesser evil. Lets say you want to accomplish something good but you have to do something really really bad in order to do this good deed so you do it.


Lets say you're a good guy and you go to war against the bad guys. The only way you can win this war is to kill all the innocent babies on the bad guy's side so you do it because in the end the bad guys will lose and the good guys will take over.

Answer 2

wow sandie, i don't know how to answer your question in a way that is easy to understand. but i'll try.

'the end justifies the means'

End- outcome; result; effect
Means- cause; reason; or the way something was done
Justifies - it's like. . . 'gives an excuse' or 'clarifies':-)

it's like one plus one equals two. :-) or 2=1+1

it is two because one was added to one. :-(

well, this philosophy is usually kinda negative. its mostly used by not-so-good thinkers. :)

another example. Jay's mother used to dress him as a girl when he was still a baby. She let's him use pink dresses, earrings, and even let him grow his hair. She would even let him play barbie dolls. That is why when he grew up, he became gay- a beautiful gay. :-/

"I must pay my bill today! by hook or by crook, i need to get 500 thousand dollars! So I will just go and rob the bank. Whatever the cost, i will pay it." Debt paid. . . Problem solved.
The end justified the means.:-)

Hope i have helped.

Answer 3

it means that the outcome of an action is enough to justify/rationalize/give a good reason for how that action was achieved, no matter how "wrong" it seemed.

example 1:
in world war two, the americans dropped 2 atomic bombs over hiroshima and nagasaki. it killed hunders of thousands of civilians. horrible? barbaric? think about this: it ended the war. the END (the surrender of the japanese and subsequent end of world war 2) justified the MEANS (the killing of thousands of civilians). to add to that...if the bombs were'nt dropped and the war raged on, MILLIONS more would have died in the war.

example 2:
a father grounds her over-spending, partying-every-night daughter for 6 months by cutting her allowance. the daughter is obviously angry and bitter with the seemingly harsh punishment. but in the end, she learns her lesson and realizes the value of money. the END (the daughter giving up her partying ways) justifies, or rationalizes the MEANS (cutting the allowance). i hope this helps. :)

Answer 4

the ends justifies the means refers to the End Outcome being Justified by the Way in Which it was Obtained. As long as the outcome was positive...it doesn't matter what method was used to get there...

Example - The coach thought that it was OK that he cheated by using a player that was older then the other kids because his team one the championship. In his mind, the ends justified the means.

Example - Bush feels that eventhough many innocent Iraqi's have been killed the ends justifies the means because Saddam Hussien was removed from power.

Hope that helps

Answer 5

In today's so called English ...

Plain & Simple ...

1) Everything happens for a reason !!!

2) Goes around ...Comes around !!!

The end justifies the means ....

Most things in our lifes have 2 varients ....Positive / Negative.

Depending on the situation ...facts involved ... when you apply weigh things out .... Pros / Cons ...Positive / Negative .... Good / Bad .

When you complete your desision making process ... you conclude that this is the best answer to the problem.

The end result of you decision ... you have concluded this is BEST .... " the end justifies the means !"

Answer 6

It simply means that what you get out of a situation is justified by what had to happen to get there.

A positive example is childbirth (although examples don't have to be painful!). The pain of childbirth is justified by the new life that arrives.

A negative example is rape. A reapist may feel a sense of sexual gratifaction but it would never be worth the suffering of the victim.

Answer 7

Fx. the Iraq war. If it ends well, prez. Bush will say the end justified the means of winning the war.

If a woman has to sleep her way to a promotion, she too can say the end justifies the mean. You see what I'm saying.

Basically it's a bad excuse !

Answer 8

The outcome is Justice for what happens
in the situation.
" Do a crime, you go to Jail ".
" Cheat on your Spouse, you get a Divorce ".

" The end justifies the means ".

Jail, why? They did a crime.
Divorce, why? They Cheated.

Answer 9

It means it as long as you accomplish your goal, it doesn't matter what you did to accomplish it.

Say you need to pass a test to graduate from college. You are desperate so you cheat. You pass the test and you do not feel guilty. You did whatever it took to pass the test.

You graduated (the end) by cheating (the means)

A vigilante group killed a serial killer. It was wrong to take the law into their own hands (the means) but it prevented more killings (the end)

Answer 10

it means that if you get the outcome that you desire then it doesnt matter what you had to do to get there. ex #1 you want a raise so you sleep with your boss and he gives you a raise. So now your a whore but you got a raise so its all good. ex #2 You want money and your parents are rich. You kill your parents but make it look like an accident. so now you have money but your parents are dead.