Claiming that communism is not so bad compared to Nazism, by insisting that the ends justify the means, and thus drawing a moral equivalence between Nazis who were forthright about their ethnic policies vs. hypocritical communists. "Examine carefully the means employed, judging them in terms of right and wrong, and the end will take care of itself." Most people have good intentions and wish to obtain praiseworthy goals (ends) but some forget, ignore, or try to justify using immoral methods (means) to accomplish those goals. This notion is widely shared and is most often expressed by the phrase, “The end justifies the means.” Such a belief, if left undisturbed and unchecked, can also impede the repentance process and cheat us out of exaltation. In a letter to the Romans, Paul shed light on a false teaching attributed to him—“Let us do evil that good may come” (Romans 3:8). In certain circumstances, some say it is “okay” to conceal the truth, to dig just a small pit for an adversary, to pursue an advantage of some kind—such as superior knowledge or position—against another. On its 50th anniversary, it merits reconsideration: "[Many] people expect to achieve lofty goals without any thought of the means they use…[but] a hard look at means and ends is appropriate. And then will I profess unto them: I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (3 Ne. Tiller was notorious for performing abortions when … But they forget that Nephi twice refused to follow the promptings of the Spirit. I understand that it's a form of the 'ends justify the means' fallacy within ethics, but I want a more narrow and definite designation. Therefore, by saying that 'x' is bad, you're calling the reason/explanation for your own existence immoral." To some who did, the Savior said: “Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works? ", "When the individual [is] the ultimate goal…the means implicit in achieving such a goal must be radically different. It forever established the principle that even for the greatest of all ends, eternal life, the means are critical. The war in heaven was essentially about the means by which the plan of salvation would be implemented. In place of logical evidence, this fallacy substitutes examples from … Leonard Read saw that coercive utopian “reforms” by their nature—substituting external dictation for individual choices, which are the only way for individuals to mature or “bloom”—had to be both unsuccessful and unjust. ( Log Out / ", "If we concede…that man has a right to his life, it follows that he has a right to sustain life, the sustenance being the fruits of one’s own labor. The current debate is whether it is okay to torture somebody if you end up saving people's lives. “All’s fair in love and war,” or “That’s the way the ball bounces,” they say. The fallacy is basically, "If it weren't for 'x', then you wouldn't be alive right now. August 24, 2010 Also, some readers might be inclined to hold the ethical theory that the end (i.e., an ultimate and allegedly good goal) justifies the means (e.g., doing some wrongs to get to the goal), so whatever gets us closer to the end/goal is moral. a fraud done to accomplish some good end, on the theory that the end justifies the means. It should be obvious to all thinking Latter-day Saints that the wrong means can never attain that objective. While under the assumption the end would always justify the means he gets mixed-up in … To that, philosopher Peter Singer says, "nonsense." 2 Comments. ", "Any conscientious collectivist, if he could…properly evaluate the authoritarian means his system of thought demands, would likely defect. In the Prince, Machiavelli is clearly warned against any attempt to turn what is, because Machiavelli’s philosophy comes from the nature of men. "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. “The president may have lied – but all politicians lie.” 37. Just as foolish as believing that we can “pass it on” is the idea that the satisfaction of being in the circle, whatever that may be, can somehow excuse any wrongs committed there. Offensive War—it’s better to attack a potential enemy before they can attack you (Pre-emptive war) OR going to war is justied if it can save your nation’s economy. A Machiavellian Perspective A characteristic behavior in today’s society is the belief that the The ends to not always justify the means. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Eg. ", "Each individual best promotes his own self-interest by peaceful, social cooperation as in the free market. That is a lesson few have ever learned as well as Read, and which we are in desperate need of relearning today. "The ends don't justify the means" is the classical saying, and there is a lot of philosophical debate about how far this can go. Claiming that communism is not so bad compared to Nazism, by insisting that the ends justify the means, and thus drawing a moral equivalence between Nazis who were forthright about their ethnic policies vs. hypocritical communists. Fallacy #1. Consequentialism likewise commits the fallacy, or a moral analogue of it at least, when it infers from good consequences following from an action that the action itself is good, the ends justifying the means. Therefore peace or "fairness" isn't exactly enough to simply justify that the end does not justify the mean because people who fight for freedom or fairness almost always take it … Such people seem to be saying, “My purpose was to do good or to be happy; therefore, any little lie, or misrepresentation, or lapse of integrity, or violation of law along the way is justified.”. “All these arguments of the partisan fail as ethical justification for his peculiar institution since the ends do not justify the means. Scott P. Richert January 19, 2021. a fraud done to accomplish some good end, on the theory that the end justifies the means. “Whatever Works is Right” — The Danger of Pragmatism The Process and the End Result. [45] Teleological theories differ among themselves on the nature of the particular end that actions ought to promote. Involuntary Vaccinations—forcing vaccinations on individuals is just in order to save everyone. ", "[For] an individualist…valued above all else [is] each distinctive individual human being. History has produced an almost endless supply of those who would remake society into the utopia they imagine. ", "The collectivistic view holds that…The individual does not fit himself into place but, instead…is assigned that niche or role which the political priests believe will best serve whatever societal pattern they have formulated. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. We must remember that we are finite, and God is infinite. The Ends Justify the Means Meaning. That’s not valid, or “deontically valid” i.e. just, but inferring that bad consequences imply a bad action is. Filed under Just-War, Political Philosophy, Religion, Socialism, Pingback: Principled Pragmatism – Latter-day Statesmen. In his 1969 book "Let Freedom Reign," Leonard Read argued that immoral means will result in moral decline. They often cite Nephi’s killing of Laban as an example of the need to violate a law to accomplish a greater good and to prevent a nation from dwindling in unbelief. One of the biggest lies ever adopted as truth has been the philosophy that a good end is justified by any means necessary—good or bad. ( Log Out / This notion is widely shared and is most often expressed by the phrase, “The end justifies the means.” Such a belief, if left undisturbed and unchecked, can also impede the repentance process and cheat us out of exaltation. Please, enable JavaScript and reload the page to enjoy our modern features. ", "However lofty the goals, if the means be depraved, the result must reflect that depravity. But if the means which prompt the saying of these things are wrong, no amount of rationalization or verbal whitewash can ever make them right. An example would be lying on a resume to get a good job and justifying the lie by saying the larger income will enable the liar to provide more adequately for his family. Whenever we approach a scenario, we should only think about the ends. Lured by quick money, David a loving family man and aspiring star lawyer lives a dangerous double life. It is just in the absolute. 'Baldy' Harper. Hasty generalization. For private ownership presupposes free choice in disposition, that is, freedom to exchange. Leonard Read was an astute observer of such coercive political panaceas. Some seek to justify their actions by quoting scripture. In other words, the end justifies the means, and this is what I will be arguing. Gary M. Galles is a Professor of Economics at Pepperdine University and a member of the Foundation for Economic Education faculty network. Does the end justifies the means ? Without it there can be no freedom; with it freedom is secure. But on the international issue… should France have intervened in our American Revolution? 4) The False Dilemma Fallacy. Only moral means can achieve moral advances. Our options between right and wrong often get distorted by how complicated the world gets. A logical fallacy is defined as errors of logic in an argument that has nothing to do with the actual argument, but they are much more than that. The means is only justified if it is ethically correct. ", "Can we pronounce a moral judgment on these means implicit in the individualistic goal…These means serve as a powerful thrust toward the individual’s material, intellectual, moral, and spiritual emergence—and that is right! ", "Ends, goals, aims are but the hope for things to come…They are not a part of the reality… from which may safely be taken the standards for right conduct. ", "Examine carefully the means employed, judging them in terms of right and wrong, and the end will take care of itself. If any warmongering, welfare-loving “saint” still believes the ends justify the means fallacy after reading this talk than convincing them otherwise might be hopeless. " [For] an individualist…valued above all else [is] each distinctive individual human being." The phrase “the end justifies the means” is used to suggest that any activity, whether or not that activity could be considered ethically or morally bad, is worth it so long as a desired end result is achieved. Indeed, the more I make of myself the more are others served by my existence…The way to assume 'social responsibility' is for the individual to rise…as far as possible. “All these arguments of the partisan fail as ethical justification for his peculiar institution since the ends do not justify the means. The End justifies the Means. I understand that it's a form of the 'ends justify the means' fallacy within ethics, but I want a more narrow and definite designation. Atomic Bomb—it’s better to kill 250,000 civilians than possibly lose 1,000,000 soldiers (intentional collateral damage). Pragmatism is the belief that the end result is all that matters. Those who teach it are almost always attempting to excuse the use of improper or questionable means. Those who teach it are almost always attempting to excuse the use of improper or questionable means. In simpler terms, this means that most anything is reasonable if it leads to an important and meaningful result. A Machiavellian Perspective A characteristic behavior in today’s society is the belief that the ends justifies the means. It is all simply a show of perspective. And he frequently started his rebuttals by citing Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Cause and effect, means and ends, seed and fruit, cannot be severed; for the effect already blooms in the cause, the end pre-exists in the means, the fruit in the seed.”. This common fallacy misleads by presenting complex issues in terms of two inherently opposed sides. 36. "[For] an individualist…valued above all else [is] each distinctive individual human being." While under the assumption the end would always justify the means he gets mixed-up in … Eg. Please do not edit the piece, ensure that you attribute the author and mention that this article was originally published on FEE.org. Examples of this include cheating at sports in order to win a … Hence, The prince must take into account the actual realities. Battle for freedom in spirit and might; Definition: A good result is worth a bad way of achieving those results. Only moral means can achieve moral advances. ] Included under this fallacy is the fallacy of Motivational Truth (also, Demagogy, or Campaign Promises), deliberately lying to "the people" to gain their support or motivate them toward some action the rhetor perceives to be desirable (using evil discursive means toward a "good" material end). For example, He's campaigning with illegal funds on the theory that if he wins the election the end will justify the means, or The officer tricked her into admitting her guilt-the end sometimes justifies the means. He knew that the bloom of liberty pre-existed in the seed of self-ownership, and the wilting of collectivism pre-existed in its violations of self-ownership. In the end, he agreed to break the commandment only when he was convinced that “the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes” (1 Ne. Niccolò Machiavelli never said, the ends justify the means, although he did allude to a complex version of the concept in his Prince and other works. TRON. ( Log Out / ", "Private ownership lies at the very root of individual liberty. August 28, 2011 at 5:06 pm # I mainly agree with you on the fourth amendment. end justifies the means, the A good outcome excuses any wrongs committed to attain it. Reflecting Emerson, Read argued that the ends that will actually be produced need not match those intended. But in trying to mold people into what they must be to match dictators’ mental images, they forget that the ends actually achieved will not match their imaginations and that the means which they must use are unjust, as well as undermining individuals’ potential. As long as the Ends are justified, than the means are justified as well. “This is just common practice,” or “I’m just looking after Number One,” they say. The means are irrelevant except as to their impact on the Ends. It is senseless to talk about freedom if the right of private ownership be denied. Most people apply that principle day to day. sounds like an Appeal to Authority Fallacy to me. This means actions people take are justified regardless of how they go about achieving their desired end result. This concept is exemplified by the famous aphorism, "the end justifies the means," i.e. so cause God commands it, whether or not it follows these rules, then it is just? They illustrate the fallacy that the end justifies the means." Prostitution & Drug Dealing—selling drugs or your body is ok if it’s a matter of survival. Another type of ends-justify-the-means argument is where the partisan argues that he is getting more benefits than burdens from government, and hence it is in his self-interest. In this case, the end is the final result and the means are what you use or do to get to the final result. Adobe Stock On May 31, 2009, George Tiller was murdered in the lobby of his Lutheran church in Wichita, Kansas. In everyday life, they’re linguistic and emotion-fuelled “tricks” used to manipulate people, sell products, win arguments, spin … Who are we to say that the Lord will pardon wickedness done to attain a perceived “greater good.” Even if the goal is good, it would be a personal calamity to look beyond the mark and fail to repent of the wrong we do along the way. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. (it’s ok to steal from others if it’s for the ‘greater good’.). The end justifies the means because there is no good or bad. Yet many Christians, even today, rationalize some degree of evil committed by themselves, governments, or others because of the “greater good” which supposedly came from their questionable methods.
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