If a goal is worthy, then any means taken to attain it are justifiable.Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting yo

If you have a goal, then it is rational for you to do your best to achieve that goal and any means that serves it would be rationally admissible. However, there are many cases in which you feel uneasy with such reasoning. Many goals or aims, though worthy, cannot justify using any means for their fulfillment. That is because there are varieties of considerations for choosing the means for a goal.

First, although rationality encourages us for using any means and going any way for attaining our goals, morality sometimes hinders us. Indeed, some means are morally wrong to use. For example, some argue that for putting an end on wars we may need to use nuclear bombs. This means will serve your end but it also kills many innocent people, and therefore is morally inadmissible. In such a case, we have a worthy aim, i.e. termination of war. But the means for achieving that goal is not justified morally. On the contrary, you are rationally admitted to do exert that means; as David Hume asserted: “there is no reason for not destroying the world for my scratching finger.” One can rationally destroy the world if he believes that this will help him for attaining his goal. And in this case, one who wants his finger to be assuaged has a worthy goal, indeed. He is, thus, rationally justified to use any means. But rationality is not all that one needs to evaluate his deed. Morality is always another factor that should be considered in any activity.

Second, some means can efficiently help us to attain a given goal, but at the same time will sabotage our chance for attaining other worthy goals of ours. For instance, you can kill yourself for mitigating the pain of your finger; however, this means will put an end to your other goals. Thus, you cannot justifiably apply it. No matter how much you aim is worthy, you cannot use any means for achieving that aim without any further consideration about the consequences of your actions.

Finally, it not easy to say something is absolutely worthy as a goal. People have different goals in their lives and all of them claim that their aims are valuable. It seems that there is no criterion for evaluating goals. You may have goals that can be served as means for other, higher-level goals. Then, they can only be worthy if they help you in achieving those higher-level goals. For example, you may want to buy a car and at the same time, you want to use it for, say, getting easier to your home. You may choose any way to buy the car; you may even sell your home! Doing this will really put you in a complicated situation. Then I am not sure if you will still endorse the claim that any means is justified for worthy goals.

To conclude, the claim that goals justify means, is not sustainable without considering many factors, including rational, moral, axiological, etc. Indeed, one needs to consider the consequences of an action as a means for attaining her goals, and it is not enough just to take a means for gaining an aim.