End result all that matters?

[Lunar]

Another thread inspired me to post a philosophy topic.

What this question asks, is whether the methods that we use to accomplish a noble goal should be used to judge its morality (and thus whether we should do it).  Would it be just to murder one innocent person to save a thousand?

[12th Doctor]

It depends, it really does.  If the end is something that absolutly must be achieved, then I would say that most means are acceptable, but there are certainly many ends that do not justify the means.

As for the specific question that you asked, I don't have the answer for it.  I'm not sure what I would do, but whatever I did do, it would never seem to be justified, although I would have to do it.  Understand?

[Nym90]

Definitely no, in my opinion.

The problem with "the end justifies the means" is that that's what the bad guys think. What makes the good guys the good guys is that they are above that. Clearly society will descend into chaos and anarchy if everyone is allowed to pursue what they think is the proper end by any means necessary. The "bad guys" think that they are right, and we are wrong, thus it's ok for them to destroy us. If we take the same mindset, how are we better?

There has to be some limit, some moral absolute that divides us.

That's just my take though. Flame away.

[© tweed]

YES

[Nation]

If we don't focus on the methods we use to achieve goals, we'll end up falling into a never-ending life of corruption, cheating, and immoral methods to get what we want, and the story goes on from there.

[Lunar]

But is it ok to cheat to achieve something noble?  Normally corruption and cheating are used to accomplish bad things.

[Nation]

But is it ok to cheat to achieve something noble?  Normally corruption and cheating are used to accomplish bad things.

Is it okay to use corruption to achieve something noble? Not in my opinion, although I did enjoy the movie "Boondock Saints."

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

I vote yes, but only of we look at the truly end result, and not just some intermediate result.  

So if our society uses corrupt means to achieve some specific just end, but those means lead us gradually to an immoral society, then we haven't really achieved a good end result.

[Gustaf]

Hm, I agree with Soulty. It depends. Was it OK to bomb Dresden and intern a lot of innocent Japanese during WWII? Not really, but it was part of a greater struggle, and I cannot see that any of it led to a generally more immoral society. It depends a lot on the situation. Generally, I'm inclined to say no, but i voted yes on the poll, since I think that it's overall more important. I mean, if the end result is bad, that's bad...