Tuesday, October 23, 2007

“If a goal is worthy, then any means taken to attain it is justifiable.”

As humans, it is only natural to have dreams or goals. Goals serve as a mental visualization and motivation towards the ends we seek to achieve. As we work towards our goals, we take certain actions and steps to ensure our success in attaining said goals. The topic statement claims that if a goal is worthy, then any means taken to attain it is justifiable. However, I disagree with the sentiments raised by the statement as the worthiness of a goals is too subjective and can be twisted to suit the needs of a selfish individual. Also, by taking any means to attain a goal, good and kind virtues can be sacrificed in the process.

In order to better illustrate my views, I shall break the topic statement into separate components for better analysis: the worthiness of the goal and the means taken to attain it.

First, what defines a worthy goal? For different people, it can take on very different meanings. It can be a goal on a personal context; trying to hit that certain weight target, or trying to attain certain level of scores in examinations and so on. Others have goals that covers a wider context; goals striving for social and economic equality in the society, world peace and many more. All the above mentioned goals are reasonable goals and ultimately serve to benefit either the individual or the society, but what about goals that are selfish, evil and ultimately harms other people?

It is undeniable that goals are of a subjective matter. As mentioned, different people have different goals. What one deems as a worthy goal might not hold the same for another. Humans are inherently selfish beings and selfish goals can always be manipulated to justify its worthiness in the eyes of the beholder, even at the expense of others. Adolf Hitler sanctified the mass genocide of millions of Jews in chasing his goals of a pure Aryan society. The horror that occurred shocked the world and remains an indelible black mark in history. Were the goals pursued by Hitler's vision worthy? To him, it was. However, still remaining are the fact that millions of lives were sacrificed to attain this goal. A goal that is considered 'worthy' can always be twisted to suit the selfish context of an individual. It is impossible to value the worthiness of a goal as its definition is subjective and leaves too much space for ambiguity.

Also, in pursuing a worthy goal, one must also take into consideration the steps or actions taken to attain the goal. Among the questions one should ask are: Who does the goals benefit? Who are the person or persons affected in the path of pursuing this goal? How does it affect others? By taking the Machiavellian approach as presented by the topic statement, morality and virtues that are considered essentially good can be potentially compromised by the actions taken to attain the goal. If any means can be used to justify the attainment of a worthy goal, a person can stoop to murder, stealing, and any other sort of evil doings. At what point should a person lose his or her humanity? As rational and logical beings, we have been raised to have good values and have a kind disposition towards others. Should we sacrifice all of that and revert to base creatures in order to attain a goal? At some point, the lines must be drawn.

In sum, it is not incorrect to take any means to attain a goal, even if it is deemed worthy. The universal value of what makes a 'worthy' goal is too subjective to establish, and an evil goal can be twisted to the justify the needs of a selfish individual. Also, one should take into consideration the means taken to attain a goal as it can potentially compromise morals and values that are considered inherently good.

No comments: