|
The OP metioned that he had never seen philosophy that argued for "the ends justify the means". Well, if you want to look at such philosophy, take a look at Consequentialism.
I have strong consequentialist leanings. I generally think the ends do justify the means. The consequences (ends) of an action (means) are what matters. If an action has good consequences, the act is a good one. If it has bad consequences, it is a bad one.
I think most people are this way in practice, though if you were to ask most people if they believed "the ends justify the means", they would reject the principle as abhorrent (while still merrily going about their lives as if it were true). A funny thing happens when you actually ask people why they think consequences do not justify actions. They almost always end up describing some undesirable consequences of the action that they just failed to consider as a part of their initial judgement.
|