What does ‘a means to an end’ mean and ‘the end justifies the means’ mean?

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That was a mouthful for a title, but yeah, basically what I wrote in the title, can anyone explain, I can’t wrap my head around it. And could you use an example please? That helps a lot. Thanks 🙂

Edit: thank you guys for responding so fast! I think I get it now 🙂 how would you use it in a sentence using your examples?

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7 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

The “end” is one’s goal. The “means” is the method that one uses to achieve one’s goal. If something is a “means to an end,” it’s not valuable in its own right, it’s just valuable for helping you achieve your goal. If “the ends justify the means,” it’s worth it for you to do immoral things to achieve your goal, so long as your goal itself is moral.

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