Does the End Justify the Means?

In the old English stories, Robin Hood lived in a forest and robbed rich travellers. Then he gave the money to poor families who were hungry. People have loved the stories for six hundred years. But was Robin Hood right? His goal was good. His way of reaching it was stealing.

The end and the means

Philosophers split a plan like Robin Hood's into two parts:

• the end - the goal you want to reach: hungry families fed;
• the means - the way you reach it: taking money by force.

The old question is: does the end justify the means? "Justify" means "make it right". If the goal is good enough, is any way of reaching it all right?

What looking at results says

Someone who looks only at results answers: very often, yes. If the hungry families gain more than the rich travellers lose, then taking the money did more good than harm. On this view, the means are just more results to add up. Robin Hood's argument would be:

Feeding hungry families does much more good than a rich traveller loses.
So taking the money is right.

The worry

But think of where that argument could lead. Suppose a footballer on Lena's team could win the final by pretending to be fouled - the referee would give a penalty. The whole team, the school and all the parents would be happy. One other team would lose. The end is good for many; the means is a lie.

Many people feel that something has gone wrong here, even if the numbers add up. They give reasons like these:

• Some means are wrong whatever they lead to: lying, stealing, using people. The Runaway Trolley suggested something like this.
• We are bad at guessing results. People who were sure their good end justified bad means have often been wrong about the end.
• The means shape who you become. Someone who wins by cheating once finds it easier the next time.

Those who look at results have replies: lying and cheating usually lead to bad results too, once you count trust and the other team fairly. The debate is still alive.

This question is where the next module starts. If some means are wrong whatever they lead to, what makes them wrong?

Try it at home

1. Find a story, film or game where a hero does something wrong for a good goal.
2. Write the end and the means separately.
3. Write one reason that the end justifies the means, and one reason that it doesn't.

Words to know

• end - the goal an action aims at
• means - the way you reach a goal
• justify - to give reasons that make something right

Big idea

A goal and the way you reach it can be judged apart. Looking at results says a good enough end can justify the means. Many people answer that some means are wrong whatever they lead to - and that is the question of the next module.