Do the ends justify the means? (moral, moral)

[MoonWater]

Can a bad deed be justified if in the end that deed brings about the greater good? In a sense "do the ends justify the means?" Why or why not?

[Mestemia]

Can you successfully/morally/ethically uphold the law by breaking the law?

[MoonWater]

Originally Posted by Mestemia

Can you successfully/morally/ethically uphold the law by breaking the law?

But I'm not talking about necesarrily about upholding or breaking the law but about bringing about the "greater good". Which depending on the circumstances may or may not be the same thing. Let me illustrate with an example. Say there's a mass murderer out on the loose in the area where you live. You somehow find out that the guy is your next door neighbor. Now you have a clear view through your bedroom window of his bedroom, his window is always open and you just happen to own a gun. You know full well that all you would have to do to end the killing spree would be to take your gun and shoot him as he's passing by the window. The police aren't making any headway and in the time it takes for you to inform them of your discovery and for them to fully investigate your neighbor more people would no doubt be killed. Would you be justified in shooting him if doing so would prevent more murders? True you are taking a life, and you aren't even doing it in self-defense, but in taking that life you save many others. So would your actions be justifiable? Would your end, stoping the murders, justify your means, killing someone? Why or why not?

[Guitar's Cry]

Ah, Utilitarianism! The problem with this ethical code is in determining what is "good," "bad," and how to weigh them. One person's happiness is another's sorrow.

[Reverend Rick]

Absolutley, the ends justify the means. I like happy endings. Sometimes karma needs a little push. This is a slippery slope however. A warped mind could justify anything.

[Guitar's Cry]

Originally Posted by Reverend Rick

Absolutley, the ends justify the means. I like happy endings. Sometimes karma needs a little push. This is a slippery slope however. A warped mind could justify anything.

All minds are warped. The ends are justified for some, but not all. When calculating the greatest happiness, who has the most value?

[lava]

Originally Posted by MoonWater

But I'm not talking about necesarrily about upholding or breaking the law but about bringing about the "greater good". Which depending on the circumstances may or may not be the same thing. Let me illustrate with an example. Say there's a mass murderer out on the loose in the area where you live. You somehow find out that the guy is your next door neighbor. Now you have a clear view through your bedroom window of his bedroom, his window is always open and you just happen to own a gun. You know full well that all you would have to do to end the killing spree would be to take your gun and shoot him as he's passing by the window. The police aren't making any headway and in the time it takes for you to inform them of your discovery and for them to fully investigate your neighbor more people would no doubt be killed. Would you be justified in shooting him if doing so would prevent more murders? True you are taking a life, and you aren't even doing it in self-defense, but in taking that life you save many others. So would your actions be justifiable? Would your end, stoping the murders, justify your means, killing someone? Why or why not?

i think it would be like people playing God. we can not know all the details. maybe that murderer was planing to kill a man who were going to place a bomb in a central place. by killing the murderer one would be killing dozens. who knows? i don't.

i believe making a plan to kill someone, makes one murderer. maybe a greater good might come out for others but label of ones' action remains the same. i mean there would be greater good for him.

[MoonWater]

Originally Posted by Guitar's Cry

All minds are warped. The ends are justified for some, but not all. When calculating the greatest happiness, who has the most value?

I don't think it's really a matter of who has the most value, the way I see it the greatest good in this instance would be what helps the greatest amount of people. In my little scenario when who decides to shoot his neighbor under those circumstances would be helping far more people then he is hurting. Yes it is true that such logic could and has caused people justify many horrendous things and it does depend on what one deems to be "good" and "bad" but I think everyone here would agree that this neighbor who has killed many people is "bad" and that stopping him from killing more people would be "good".

[MoonWater]

Originally Posted by lava

i think it would be like people playing God. we can not know all the details. maybe that murderer was planing to ki