Full transcription and quotation can be found here heroides, ii, 85. With machiavellis principles, we are now faced with the issue whether the desired ends is justified by the means used to achieve them. Widely attributed to machiavelli s the prince, which does reflect this philosophy but does not use the phrase in this wording. Concerning the way in which princes should keep faith. The ends justify the means is machiavelli right that. What did machiavelli mean by the statement the end. Machiavelli said a lot of things hello, it is better to be feared than loved, but he never said the end justifies the means. Niccolo machiavelliwrote that the ends justify the means. Your very radical example of bringing about world peace in the stead of killing many people at first seems to justify this stance quite well. In this essay i shall argue that it is not true that the end justifies the means but rather that it is the means which condition the end. Machiavelli gives a complex answer to this fundamental politic. People will sometimes say this phrase in a question, do the ends justify the means. Where did machiavelli say that the ends justify the means. Stanley bing is the bestselling author of crazy bosses, what would machiavelli do.
Niccolo machiavelli advocates many cutthroat policies in the prince in his effort to model the perfect leader, one who would place the utmost importance on preserving his power and his state rather than dealing with moral dilemmas. According to machiavelli, this theory suggests that almost any action or behavior is perfectly acceptable as long. The phrase the ends justify the means refers to the morality of an action,which basically means a good outcome excuses any wrongs. Although mostly attributed to machiavelli, the phrase the end justifies the means is not one of his creation. However, people dont necessarily have to read machiavelli to feel according to them that the ends justify the means. Machiavelli said, the ends justify the means fact or myth.
Hence, the prince must take into account the actual realities. Scholars like leo strauss and harvey mansfield have established that the prince can be interpreted as having a purposeful comical irony and often stated that machiavelli venerates instrumentality in statebuilding a method personified by the maxim that the ends justify the means. The line, often adopted by strong men in controversy, of justifying the means by the end. Definition of the end justifies the means in the idioms dictionary. Machiavelli is most famous for his idea that the end justifies the means. Concerning those who have obtained a principality by wickedness, as well as from the discourses, that the concept of the.
The meaning of this statement is yes, it is plausible and correct for an individual to do any means, even if it means murdering or lying to get an outcome to obtain a desirable outcome. Machiavelli defends these conclusions using both explicit and implicit language. Qualities of a prince, leads one to question if the ends justify the means because of machiavellis assertion of using immoral means in order to achieve a morally right end result. Mar 02, 2015 the ends justify the means march 2, 2015 melissa 4 comments entangled in florentine politics during a tumultuous time at the height of the renaissance, niccolo machiavelli became alternately a diplomat, a victim, a prisoner, an exile and, ultimately, the father of modern political theory. The phrase is better translated as one must think of the final result, and was written in regards to the lack of a true judge of whether a princes. It is incorrectly assigned to machiavelli, when it should be to ovid. The end justifies the means is an old phrasing which dates way back in the 16th century and was formed from niccolo machiavellis famous saying men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand, because it belongs to everybody to see you, to few to come in touch with you. Given that the medicis had just used mercenaries to conquer a republic, of course they would want to feel justified in their rule. The issue will be explored in the light of niccolo machiavellis the qualities of the prince and martin luther king jr. What does the end justifies the means mean answers. The end justifies the means idioms by the free dictionary. Typically, this quote is misinterpreted as any action, no matter how unethical or immoral, can be justified for the purpose of any reasonable or needed outcome. The ends didnt need to justify the means, because the means were self justifying.
Machiavellis ends to flatter the medicis defined how he wrote his book and his word choice. It means that if a goal is morally important enough, any method of getting it is acceptable. Oct 15, 2017 sometimes even the best decisions cause some bad results. A good result is worth a bad way of achieving those results. Oct 14, 2019 what is most scandalous about the princeno less so now than when it was writtenis machiavellis apparent endorsement of the principle that the ends justify the means, however cruel. Introduction cause and effect, means and ends, seed and fruit cannot be severed. Tony soprano and shakespeares macbeth may be wellknown. The end justifies the means is a statement written in the prince by machiavelli which is highly controversial. What is most scandalous about the princeno less so now than when it was writtenis machiavellis apparent endorsement of the principle that the ends justify the means, however cruel. In the prince, machiavelli is clearly warned against any attempt to turn what is, because machiavelli s philosophy comes from the nature of men. Sure, the sentiment is similar, but the idea certainly wasnt machiavellis. For although the act condemns the doer, the end may justify him see more related quotes. You bring up the point that to verify if the ends do in fact justify the use of dubious means is an impossible feat. The municipal machiavelli is a mostly satirical look at machiavelli s master work, the prince with commentary and observations, applying his ideas to municipal politics.
Consequentialism is primarily nonprescriptive, meaning the moral worth of an action is determined by its potential consequence, not by whether it follows a set of written edicts or laws. Luckily, with the principle of double effect, were not always responsible for the negative effects of. What does machiavelli mean by the end justifies the means. It is not meant as a scholarly or definitive approach to machiavellis philosophy, politics or art. The ends justify the means is machiavelli right that this. For the third time, then ends justify the means comes into play with what machiavelli is trying to put across. What happened, you look nice today, and immortal life. And how to get them, the big bing, and the curriculum, as well as the novels lloyd. Luckily, with the principle of double effect, were not always responsible for the negative effects of our actions. Acoording to machiavelli, yes, the ends do justify the means, only they arent exactly moral ends. The end justifies the means simple english wikipedia. The end justifies the means machiavellis the prince. He believed that the first priority of a leader is to protect his power at any cost.
The idea is ancient, but it was not meant to justify unnecessary cruelty. Lets make sure that is straight before i go any further. In discussing whether the end justifies the means i plan to spend as much time on the relationship between ends and means as on the justifications, moral or otherwise. The end justifies the means definition of the end justifies. One ascends to the principality by some wicked or nefarious ways it was from machiavelli s chapter viii. In the prince, machiavelli is clearly warned against any attempt to turn what is, because machiavellis philosophy comes from the nature of men. That being the case, machiavelli was merely describing the realities of power in his age. In his book called the prince, he introduced the idea that the ends justify the means. Morally wrong actions are sometimes necessary to achieve morally. Machiavelli says that the end justify the means when, for example, he says that people are of no importance and untrustworthy, and if you must lie to citizens and other people in order.
This was machiavellis identifying line to many people, and in my conversations with them, i got the impression that machiavelli meant the following. That machiavellis stated purpose is to say something that will prove of practical use machiavelli 65 is of particular significance. Thus, from a consequentialist standpoint, a morally right act or omission from acting is one that will produce a good outcome, or consequence. According to machiavelli, do moral ends justify immoral. What is the origin of the quote the end justifies the means. Wrong is wrong saying that the ends justify the means is an invalid statement, those agreeing with this statement obviously believe that killing, stealing, and cheating does not matter as long as it has a good outcome and the goal is obtained. The end justifies the means simple english wikipedia, the. For although the act condemns the doer, the end may justify him. In fact, they dont even have to be in politics to use this kind of strategy.
Machiavelli had achieved some success under the florentine republic. The end justifies the means is a phrase which means that, if you have a goal, it does not matter how you reach it, as long as you reach it. Consequentialism is the class of normative ethical theories holding that the consequences of ones conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct. What did machiavelli mean by the statement the end justifies.
A machiavellian perspective a characteristic behavior in todays society is the belief that the ends justifies the means. Therefore, he told the medicis exactly what the wanted to hear, the ends justify the means. Accepted interpretation of machiavellis the ends justify. Tony soprano and shakespeares macbeth may be wellknown machiavellian. Niccolo machiavelli never said, the ends justify the means, although he did allude to a complex version of the concept in his prince and other works. People love to put these words into nicks mouth, but the closest he came was probably the quote above. Machiavelli states, therefore, a prince must not worry about the reproach of cruelty when it is a matter of keeping his subjects united and loyal.
Beginning with constantine 2007, we have the passage in question rendered in english thus. Probably the closest machiavelli gets to expressing this view is in chapter xviii of the prince. Scholars often note that machiavelli glorifies instrumentality in state building, an approach embodied by the saying, often attributed to interpretations of the prince, the ends justify the means. Did sarah palin really say that she could see russia from her house. It is not meant as a scholarly or definitive approach to machiavelli s philosophy, politics or art. I think in this modern age the machiavellian philosophy of the ends justify the means needs to be expanded upon. In his book he discusses the morality of political rules. May 08, 2018 jared diamond, not machiavelli, stated within the article that you have linked that machiavelli is a crystalclear realist. Entangled in florentine politics during a tumultuous time at the height of the renaissance, niccolo machiavelli became alternately a diplomat. According to machiavelli, the ends always justify the meansno matter how cruel, calculating or immoral those means might be.
The end justifies the means definition is used to say that a desired result is so good or important that any method, even a morally bad one, may be used to achieve it. On machiavelli and the ends justify the means to liberal fascism. Widely attributed to machiavellis the prince, which does reflect this philosophy but does not use the phrase in this. At the beginning of an action i might not be able to determine whether that action is morally right or wrong, but when the morally right goal is successfully achieved. Most people attribute this quote to niccolo machiavelli. For example, some students i have taught justified lying on their resume because it. Dec 20, 2016 niccolo machiavelli said, the ends justify the means. The basic interpretation of the end justifies the means is.
Hes campaigning with illegal funds on the theory that if he wins the election the end will justify the means, or the officer tricked her into admitting her guiltthe end sometimes. However, it was derived from the name of niccolo machiavelli, the author of the prince, which probably was the first organized and influential political document in history. On machiavelli and the ends justify the means to liberal. Accepted interpretation of machiavellis the ends justify the means. Machiavelli wasnt interested in justifying power, merely describing its operation. This fiery man, who translated the entire bible into latin, called the vulgate, said this in the 48th letter to a guy named pammachius ab. Is that the real machiavelli or to what extent is that the real machiavellian was marquis of eliot machiavelli in for example one phrases come to be. What is funny about many of the people that read the prince, in. Machiavelli gives a complex answer to this fundamental politic problem. The term is utilitarianism so i guell machiavelli promoted the idea of utilitarianism. When machiavelli wrote the treatise in 1532, he claimed that one of situations in which it was necessary to use unethical means was in military manners. It was later picked up and used to justify murderous acts by lenin and stalin. Jun 26, 2018 however, people dont necessarily have to read machiavelli to feel according to them that the ends justify the means.
That machiavellis stated purpose is to say something that will prove of practical use machiavelli 65 is of particular significance because it both delicately and violently attacks the. Sure, the sentiment is similar, but the idea certainly wasnt machiavelli s. Furthermore, machiavelli believed that any possibly cruel actions by governments should be swift, effective, and shortlived to decrease the harmful impact on their citizens and to minimize the probability of rebellion. Jared diamond, not machiavelli, stated within the article that you have linked that machiavelli is a crystalclear realist. Everyone sees what you seem to be, but few feel what you are. One example would entail lying under the threat of government punishment to save an innocent persons life, even though it is illegal to lie under oath. Of maintaining a princedom from the prince machiavelli a prince must defend his state with either. The end justifies the means was a statement that was suggested by niccolo machiavelli in his book titled the prince.
Hes saying that it is okay to use cruelty considered bad means in order to keep his subjects united and loyal a good end. This means actions people take are justified regardless of how they go about achieving their desired end result. By day he is an haute executive in a gigantic multinational corporation whose identity is one of the worst. Niccolo machiavelli never actually said the ends justify the means. Concerning those who have obtained a principality by wickedness, as well as from the discourses, that the concept of the end justifies the means was derived. If being feared the bad means allows him or her to rule his or her country better and with more power good ends, then let it be. The municipal machiavelli is a mostly satirical look at machiavellis master work, the prince with commentary and observations, applying his ideas to municipal politics. Niccolo machiavelli was 15th century italian philosopher he had some unconventional beliefs. Oct 06, 20 machiavelli defends these conclusions using both explicit and implicit language. Fraud and deceit are held by machiavelli as necessary for a prince to use. The end justifies the means is a phrase of sergey nechayev, the 19th century russian revolutionary. Sometimes even the best decisions cause some bad results.