What does the phrase "the end justifies the means" mean?
by 
seldomseen
ANSWERS: 11
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It means that the result of an action is considered valuable enough to cause one to overlook the method used to get to that result.
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It means that: Even though you did something really wrong to get something you really wanted, it's okay because something you think is good came out in the end.
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It means....in the end a person is only judged by their intentions... Actions speak for actions...but nobody know a person intentions behind that action...except for God. becuase the actions could have seemed wrong...but in the end, it turned out for the best...
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i think ..it means that whatever result(success & failure) we get in life..is result of means we adopted. we have to blame no one....end is totally our responsibility..good or bad it may be.... so if u want good end pay as much attention to means as to end.
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>>"the end justifies the means"<< "The end" refers to the final result of one's action(s). "The means" refers to the methods used to attain that result. It has nothing to do with intention, as somebody posted. Nor is the means necessarily "wrong," as someone else posted: "you did something really wrong to get something you really wanted." The phrase simply means, "Do whatever it takes to get the desired result." It doesn't mean do something right or do something wrong. It's an amoral (without morals) philosophy.
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It means that although you might do slightly wrong during the course of creating a greater good... things were better when you did it. If justified... otherwise think twice.
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It's an idea which tells you that if your goals are good, you can do anything necessary to achieve them. For example, Joseph Stalin wanted to create a truly socialist state in the USSR. This phrase provided him with an excuse to murder tens of millions of people. Similarly, Adolf Hitler wanted a strong and unified German state that would be a dominant world power. He found that he could come to political power by demonizing anyone who wasn't German, and then setting up murder factories to kill them all. In effect, the phrase is a justification for dispensing with all morality and principle in the journey toward the goal that you believe is good. If there is anything more likely to provide a justification for evil, I don't know what it is. I've never seen it used for anything but that.
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The end result justifies the means by which you went about in order to achieve it.
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It means, "Screw YOU...I'm gettin' mine!"
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It means that it's okay to kill jaywalkers and litterers if it stops them from committing those crimes! ;)
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It means that if your desired goal is a good one, then it doesn't matter if you pursue evil means to reach that goal. It is a lie, and it has been used to justify atrocities through the ages.
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