To machiavelli 14691527 is often attributed the statement, the good end justifies the means. 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. Sure, the sentiment is similar, but the idea certainly wasnt machiavelli s. Niccolo machiavelli wrote that the ends justify the means.
The problem is that the situation is very subjective. Probably the closest machiavelli gets to expressing this view is in chapter xviii of the prince. The phrase came from niccolo machiavellis book the prince. What does the end justifies the means mean answers. Niccolo machiavelli never said, the ends justify the means, although. However, machiavelli suggested and supported this pragmatic philosophy only for the purpose. The misuse of the phrase the end justifies the means contradicts machiavelli s main point that a prince ought to think about future events and prepare for potential problems.
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. It is for this reason that machiavelli is on the catholic index list of banned books. The other is by the adjective machiavellian, meaning something evil, underhanded, treacherous, cunning or sneaky in politics. The result doesnt need always be goodit must be important. The origins, meanings and time honored wisdom of proverbs and folk sayings. Indeed, if you are interested the book niccolo machiavellis the prince. But if you are interested in the controversial or morally dubious ground of this specific saying, the end justifies the means, then you can consider calling it machiavellian, after niccolo machiavelli who was famous for his writings, including the prince. The misuse of the phrase the end justifies the means contradicts machiavellis main point that a prince ought to think about future events and prepare for potential problems. 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. 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 end justifies the means is used to say that doing bad things is acceptable if they achieve an important result.
Machiavelli is primarily known for the phrase the end justifies the means which has been continuously a subject of contention with regards to discussions. End justifies the means, the definition of end justifies. Someone machiavellian is sneaky, cunning, and lacking a moral code. Machiavelli said, the ends justify the means fact or myth. This question has been asked for millennia, with the resulting answers rarely perfect in their finite form.
What does machiavelli mean by the end justifies the. Immanuel kant congress of minds determines the truth, so the means justify the end con. Most people attribute this quote to niccolo machiavelli. The phrase, the end justifies the means, means that doing morally wrong actions can be justifiable if the outcome is morally correct, but can it.
Niccolo machiavelli said, the ends justify the means. Machiavelli is most famous for his idea that the end justifies the means. In the prince, machiavelli is clearly warned against any attempt to turn what is, because machiavelli s philosophy comes from the nature of men. Is there a name for the expression the end justifies the. He justifies the rulers action by saying that the outcome, however is ultimately better for. New interdisciplinary essays is interesting if you have the time, it does document around pg 111 in the paper, language and the prince how polybius, aristotle, livy, ovid, and lucretius were flagrantly plagiarised by machiavelli d3l jul 30 14 at 6. Who coined the political philosophy the end justifies the.
Sep 29, 2008 the end result, for anything to be a success, must outweigh in good or importance to justify the bad possibly immoral, unethical or just painful things that had to be done to get there. People love to put these words into nicks mouth, but the closest he came was probably the quote above. He argues that power is always celebrated and is an end in itself, that means are immaterial. How to use the end justifies the means correctly grammarist. A good result is worth a bad way of achieving those results. People will sometimes say this phrase in a question, do the ends justify the means. Accepted interpretation of machiavellis the ends justify. The saying, the end justifies the means, meaning that if a goal is morally important enough, any method of achieving it is acceptable. Therefore i believe it is not true that the end justifies the means but rather that it is the means which condition the end. To understand why this position is being taken, you have to understand the origin of the end justifies the means. The end justifies the means is a statement written in the prince by machiavelli which is highly controversial. This famous quote is relevant in leadership today by examples of harry trumans dropping of the atom bomb, hitlers final solution, and the attacks of 911. He is also known as the father of modern political philosophy.
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. What is the origin of the quote the end justifies the means. 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. What is your take on machiavellis the end justify the means. Widely attributed to machiavellis the prince, which does reflect this philosophy but does not use the phrase in this wording. The end justifies the means machiavellis the prince. The closest he came to it was when he expressed his. In general, the phrase the end justifies the means. The line, often adopted by strong men in controversy, of justifying the means by the end. On machiavelli and the ends justify the means to liberal fascism.
Niccolo machiavelli is one of the significant political and philosophical thinkers known by many of us. One is the statement that, the end justifies the means. The basic interpretation of the end justifies the means is. New interdisciplinary essays is interesting if you have the time, it does document around pg 111 in the paper, language and the prince how polybius, aristotle, livy, ovid, and lucretius were flagrantly plagiarised by machiavelli. This created a problem of moral hazard where the party that creates the achieved the desired end result by manipulating the means. In the prince, machiavelli is clearly warned against any attempt to turn what is, because machiavellis philosophy comes from the nature of men. The statement that the ends justifies the means can be traced back to niccolo machiavelli. Machiavellis life lived with virtu conditions a warlike and totalitarian state because there is a direct causal relationship between. Machiavelli described a situation in which a ruler opresses his people. The machiavelli family is believed to be descended from the old marquesses of tuscany and to have produced thirteen florentine gonfalonieres of justice, one of the offices of a group of nine citizens selected by drawing lots every two. Machiavelli s phrase is interpreted by many to mean that the end result of an action was justified by the actions one took to get there, regardless of the methods used.
This argument was created by niccolo machiavelli in xvi century. 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. It must ensure his appearances, since we can not do without, and machiavelli said that it should be done with the purpose to be loved by his people. The closest he came to it was when he expressed his view in chapter xviii of the prince. You take the two sides and you put them on your imaginary scale and can then justify them as necessary steps, doesnt have to be the best way nor must it be. End justifies the means, the definition at, a free online dictionary with pronunciation, synonyms and translation. Although machiavelli believed that the ends justify the means no matter how terrible those means were, the evidence will show that king s ideas that the means used to reach an end should be pure are more reasonable. Men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand, because it belongs to everybody to see. The end justifies the means definition of the end justifies. 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. 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. Should the doctrine of the end justifies the means be accepted.
The end justifies the means idioms by the free dictionary. Although mostly attributed to machiavelli, the phrase the end justifies the means is not one of his creation. Machiavellis phrase is interpreted by many to mean that the end result of an action was justified by the actions one took to get there, regardless of the methods used. Excerpt from the prince, written by niccolo machiavelli in the early sixteenth century, and espouser of the philosophy, the end justifies the means. The term is utilitarianism so i guell machiavelli promoted the idea of utilitarianism. What else could possibly, ultimately justify any set of means than the relative merits of all of its ends. 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. In the actions of men, and especially of princes, from which there is no appeal, the end justifies the means. The end result, for anything to be a success, must outweigh in good or importance to justify the bad possibly immoral, unethical or just painful things that had to be done to get there.
If a person really thinks in a machiavellian perspective, he or she would use necessary means to achieve an end to avoid future complications machiavelli, the. Machiavelli said a lot of things hello, it is better to be feared than loved, but he never said the end justifies the means. For although the act condemns the doer, the end may justify him see more related quotes. When we were young it was easy to assume that the end justifies the means. Machiavelli meant by the end justifies the means, that the end result of an action was justified by the actions you took to get there. I am not aware of him using that phrase, even in italian, but the idea is the thing. Machiavelli had achieved some success under the florentine republic. Jun 03, 2011 probably the closest machiavelli gets to expressing this view is in chapter xviii of the prince. The end justifies the means is an old phrasing which dates way back in the 16th century and was formed from niccolo machiavelli s 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. The the end justifies the means doctrine is acceptable, but only under certain situations. Where did machiavelli say that the ends justify the means. Machiavelli was so close in relative philosophical time to the ancient athenians i would choose plato as a recorder of socrates as the most interesting target. 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. Concerning those who have obtained a principality by wickedness, as well as from the discourses, that the concept of.
Ends refer to the sum of effects caused by their means. Therefore, he told the medicis exactly what the wanted to hear, the. Machiavelli gives primacy to holding on to power over ethical considerations to meet that end. However, it was derived from the name of niccolo machiavelli, the author of the prince, which. This statement is mentioned in niccolo machiavellis book, the prince, but not exactly stated in that way. Sure, the sentiment is similar, but the idea certainly wasnt machiavellis. The word comes from the italian philosopher niccolo machiavelli, who wrote the political treatise the prince in the 1500s, that encourages the end justifies the means behavior, especially among politicians. Morality is defined by the individual, and can also be reflected by ones religion.
Definition of the end justifies the means in the idioms dictionary. The expression the end justifies the means is attributed to niccolo machiavelli, though he did not use that exact phrasing anywhere in his work, the prince. Niccolo machiavelli, arguably the finest political theorist of his time, wrote in his famous work the prince that a ruler use any methods available to him to maintain stability, for even though some methods might seem abusive and purely attempts toward staying in power, in reality they benefit the people because the ruler manages to maintain stability which is all the people could ask for. Machiavelli was born in florence, italy, the third child and first son of attorney bernardo di niccolo machiavelli and his wife, bartolomea di stefano nelli. Hence, the prince must take into account the actual realities. You wanted a cookie, so you stole a cookie out of your younger siblings hands. The phrase came from niccolo machiavelli s book the prince. Machiavellis ends to flatter the medicis defined how he wrote his book and his word choice. He justifies the rulers action by saying that the outcome, however is ultimately better for the people. The closest he came to it was when he expressed his view in. Ovid, the roman poet, wrote in his work, heroides, in 10 b.
Thus the means bloodshed and violence conditions the end political instability. What does machiavelli mean by the end justifies the means. It is not meant as a scholarly or definitive approach to machiavelli s philosophy, politics or art. Machiavelli the ends justify the means from chapter xviii of the prince. A mans own actions, will from the start give him such a name that it will require a long course of opposite conduct to destroy it.
For example, machiavelli in chapter 15 of the prince describes the general theme of the book, indeed the major purpose of a prince the seizing and welding of pure, raw power for revenge, glory and survival can rationalize the use of immoral means to achieve those ends. He who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner. Machiavelli gives a complex answer to this fundamental politic problem. Accepted interpretation of machiavellis the ends justify the means. Niccolo machiavelli is the political philosopher who coined the philosophy that the end justifies the means.