"The end justifies the means." How do I rebut this point?

Question

"The end justifies the means." How do I rebut this point?

Answer 1

We all dont want there to be hungry people in the world , so if "the ends justify the means" the if  we kill all the hungry people , there will be no hungry people  ...does that make sense  

Answer 2

So it is OK to kill you for the dollar in your pocket so I can buy a Diet Coke?

Answer 3

Even though the world is result oriented there are issues that we have to take into consideration: the law, public sentiment, ethics, personal rights etc. By breaking any of these how can we say that the end justifies the means?

You can take example of the n***s and the scientific experiments that they performed on the Jews. Many of those experiments could have potentially great benefits for mankind but at what cost? 6 million lives. Is it justified? Is it ethical to use the information and results for benefitting mankind? In this example do you think the ends justified the means.

You could break down all the different points like personal freedom, ethics, law etc. and give examples. Hope this helps!

Answer 4

America dropped the bomb on Japan.  We won.  The end justifies the means.  Even though we were winning anyways and Japan was about to surrender even before the bomb.

Answer 5

Pick apart the "means".  How far is someone willing to go to get what they want?  Does it make it right just because they have some sense of entitlement?  Go from there.