The problem of ends and means comes up frequently. It defines the principles of a person shows his true plans. To understand the essence of these concepts, you need to analyze the issue in more detail.
The goal is what we want. It can be of any scale. We call the goal the desire that we want to realize in the near future. Means are the methods by which we will achieve the goal.
For example, if our goal is to write a good final essay, then we need to choose one of the means - either copy the work from the Internet, or read a few good books and put our thoughts on paper. The first option attracts more, as it does not require much effort. In life, everything happens exactly the same.
To achieve any goal, we have good means and bad ones.
In Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment" the main character painted his philosophy, his goals. He quickly determined that the best remedy was murder. Own ideas helped to justify such actions in my head.
In Gogol's Dead Souls, Chichikov wanted to get rich. This was his main goal. He chose a cunning and immoral means. He bought lists of already dead peasants in order to pass them off as living.
From what we choose means to achieve the goal, our personality depends. Therefore, one must always make a careful decision.
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Updated: 2017-09-05
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What is the meaning of life? Can a person accomplish anything important in his life? How to find a goal, get satisfaction from life and achieve everything you want? These and many other questions arise before each individual when, growing up, he passes from the reflex stage of development to the human stage, where his intellect begins to dominate in determining general behavior and lifestyle.
The theme of the meaning of life, being, was of interest to many Russian writers. They sought to answer the most difficult questions of life: about the Motherland, about love, about happiness, about the laws of the eternal Universe and God.
For example, A. Blok believed that one who understands what the meaning of life is, will comprehend a lot. If a person reveals that the meaning of life is in anxiety, also in anxiety, then he will no longer be a simple layman.
A. S. Griboyedov also reflects the eternal problem of finding the meaning of life, the problem of children and fathers in many of his works, the most striking of which is “Woe from Wit”. Its main character A. Chatsky protests against all the old orders that have long been rooted in society. He fights actively for freedom, new life, patriotism and culture.
Another no less famous writer of the last century, I.S. Turgenev, also touches on the eternal question of finding the meaning of life. His famous novel "Fathers and Sons" solves the age-old problem of relationships between different generations in a slightly different way. Using the example of his protagonist, Turgenev shows that if, without the desire to build something new, to do it under oppression, nothing will work. We must strive for the continuity of generations, the value of the culture of our ancestors. Turgenev once again proves in his works that one must live in complete harmony, responsibility and gradualness.
And what about A.S. Pushkin's novel "Eugene Onegin?" It also touches on timeless themes. These are themes of love, the meaning of life, relationships, freedom of choice, the role of morality in our lives.
The desire for complete harmony with the world and with oneself distinguishes another famous hero of the literature of the 19th century - Raskolnikov. This person, in search of such harmony, conducts an experiment on himself. He breaks the law and kills the old woman. What was Raskolnikov looking for? Harmony, freedom, happiness and independence? Aren't these values the meaning of life for many of us? However, it should be remembered that if you go the wrong way to achieve your goals, then the retribution will be too severe.
The heroes of Tolstoy's epic "War and Peace" are also in constant search for themselves, harmony, their way. For example, Pierre Bezukhov, after overcoming numerous painful mistakes and disappointments, finally finds the meaning of his life. He strives for truth, dignity and light. Isn't that the meaning of our existence?
In conclusion, I would like to say that all the literature of the 19th century and not only can be called the literature of an active search for the meaning of life, the search for a Hero. Many writers aspired to see in the heroes people who are able to serve the Motherland, respect others, benefit the Fatherland with their actions and thoughts, and simply be happy, develop, be in harmony with themselves and move forward.
Each of the Russian writers solves the problem of the meaning of life in his own way, but the constant desire to move forward remains unchanged for Russian classics.
Approximate topics of the final essay 2017-2018 (list). Direction "Aims and means".
Can it be argued that in war all means are good?
Does the end justify the means?
How do you understand the saying: "The game is not worth the candle"?
Why is it important to have a purpose in life?
What is the goal for?
Do you agree with the statement: “A person who certainly wants something forces fate to give up”?
How do you understand the saying: “When the goal is reached, the path is forgotten”?
What goal brings satisfaction?
Confirm or refute A. Einstein's statement: "If you want to lead a happy life, you must be attached to the goal, and not to people or things"?
Is it possible to achieve a goal if the obstacles seem insurmountable?
What qualities should a person have in order to achieve great goals?
Is the saying of Confucius true: "When it seems to you that the goal is unattainable, do not change the goal - change your plan of action"?
What does "great purpose" mean?
Who or what helps a person achieve a goal in life?
How do you understand the saying of O. de Balzac: “In order to reach the goal, one must first of all go”?
Can a person live without a purpose?
How do you understand the statement of E.A. According to “No transport will be passing if you don’t know where to go”?
Is it possible to achieve a goal if everyone is against you?
What is the result of not having a purpose in life?
What is the difference between true and false purpose?
How is a dream different from a goal?
What is the danger of an aimless existence?
How do you understand the saying of M. Gandhi: "Find a goal, resources will be found."
How to reach the goal?
Do you agree with the statement: “He walks faster who walks alone”?
Is it possible to judge a person by his purpose?
Is it possible to justify the great goals achieved dishonestly?
How does society influence the formation of goals?
Do you agree with A. Einstein's statement: "No goal is so lofty as to justify unworthy means to achieve it"?
Are there unattainable goals?
How do you understand the words of J. Orwell: “I understand how; I do not understand why"?
Can a good goal serve as a cover for base plans?
Do you agree with the statement of A. Rand: “Only the one in whom aspirations have died out is lost forever”?
In what situations in life does the achievement of a goal not bring happiness?
What is a person capable of who has lost his purpose in life?
Does achieving a goal always make a person happy?
What is the purpose of human existence?
Do I need to set "unattainable" goals?
How do you understand the phrase "to go over the heads"?
What is the difference between a "momentary desire" and a "goal"?
How are the moral qualities of a person related to the means that he chooses to achieve his goals?
How do you understand the statement of L. da Vinci: “The one who aspires to the stars does not turn around”?
List of literature for preparation for the final essay. "Aims and Means".
Jean-Baptiste Moliere "Tartuffe"
Jack London " "
William Thackeray "Vanity Fair"
Ayn Rand "Atlas Shrugged"
Theodore Dreiser "The Financier"
M. A. Bulgakov " And " , "Dog's heart"
I. Ilf, E. Petrov "Twelve chairs"
V.A. Kaverin "Two Captains"
F. M. Dostoevsky"Crime and Punishment", "The Brothers Karamazov", "Idiot"
A. R. Belyaev "Professor Dowell's Head"
B. L. Vasiliev"And the dawns here are quiet"
Winston Groom "Forrest Gump"
A.S. Pushkin"Captain's daughter",
"Mozart and Salieri"
J. Tolkien "The Lord of the Rings"
O. Wilde "The Picture of Dorian Gray"
I. Goncharov« »
I.S. Turgenev"Fathers and Sons"
L.N. Tolstoy"War and Peace"
M.A. Sholokhov "The Fate of Man"
D.S. Likhachev "Letters about the good and the beautiful"
A.P. Chekhov ""
R. Gallego "White on black"
O. de Balzac "Shagreen leather"
I.A. Bunin"Sir from San Francisco"
N.V. Gogol
"Overcoat"
,
"Dead Souls"
M.Yu. Lermontov
"Hero of our time"
V.G. Korolenko "The Blind Musician"
E.I. Zamyatin "We"
V.P. Astafiev "King fish"
B. Polevoy "The Tale of a Real Man"
E. Schwartz
"The Dragon"
A. Azimov "Positronic Man"
A. de Saint-Exupery "The Little Prince"
The question of the goal and the means to achieve it has worried mankind since ancient times. Many writers, philosophers, and public figures have reflected on it and provided historical, life, and literary arguments to prove their point. In the Russian classics, too, there were many answers and examples proving, as a rule, the assertion that the paths of achievement must correspond in everything to what needs to be achieved, otherwise it loses all meaning. In this selection, we have listed the most striking and illustrative examples from Russian literature for the final essay in the "Aims and Means" direction.
- In Pushkin's novel The Captain's Daughter, the protagonist always chose the right path to achieve goals, however, no less noble. Thanks to this, from an unintelligent noble undergrowth, Grinev turns into an officer, sincere, ready to sacrifice his life in the name of duty. Having sworn allegiance to the empress, he honestly performs his service, protecting the fortress, and even death at the hands of rebel robbers does not frighten him. Just as honestly, he sought the favor of Masha, and achieved. The antipode of Pyotr Grinev in the novel - Shvabrin - on the contrary, uses any means to achieve the goal, choosing the meanest of them. Having embarked on the path of betrayal, he pursues personal gain, demands reciprocity from Masha, and does not hesitate to slander her in the eyes of Peter. In choosing goals and means, Alexey is driven by spiritual cowardice and self-interest, because he is devoid of ideas of honor and conscience. Mary rejects him for this reason, because a good goal cannot be achieved by deceit.
- What should be the ultimate goal if cruelty, deceit and human lives become the means to achieve it? In the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov's "Hero of Our Time", Grigory Pechorin's goals are momentary, they are contained in the desire for second victories, to achieve which he chooses complex, and sometimes cruel, means. Hidden in his victories is a persistent search for the meaning of life, which the hero is unable to find. In this search, he destroys not only himself, but also everyone who surrounds him - Princess Mary, Bela, Grushnitsky. To revive his own soul, he plays with the feelings of others, unwittingly becoming the cause of their misfortunes. But in the game with his own life, Grigory hopelessly loses, losing those few people who were dear to him. “I realized that chasing lost happiness is reckless,” he says, and the goal, which requires so much effort and other people's grief, turns out to be illusory and unattainable.
- In comedy A.S. Griboyedov “Woe from Wit”, the society in which Chatsky is forced to be lives according to market laws, where everything is bought and sold, and a person is valuable not for spiritual qualities, but for the size of his wallet and success in his career. Nobility and duty are nothing here before the importance of rank and rank. That is why Alexander Chatsky is misunderstood and not accepted into a circle dominated by mercantile goals that justify any means.
He enters into a fight with the Famus society, challenges Molchalin, who goes to deceit and hypocrisy in order to get a high position. Even in love, Alexander turns out to be a loser, because he does not desecrate the goal with vile means, he refuses to squeeze the breadth and nobility of his heart into the narrow framework of generally accepted and vulgar concepts that Famusov's house is full of. - A person is valued by his deeds. But his deeds, even if subordinated to a high goal, are not always good. In the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" Rodion Raskolnikov decides for himself an important question from the point of view of morality: does the end justify the means? Can he, according to his theory, dispose of people's lives as he sees fit?
The answer lies in the title of the novel: Raskolnikov's mental anguish, after the atrocity he committed, proves that his calculation was wrong, and his theory was wrong. The goal, which is based on unrighteous and inhumane means, depreciates by itself, becomes a crime, for which sooner or later one will have to be punished. - In the novel by M.A. Sholokhov "Quiet Don" the fate of the heroes swept away by the revolutionary elements. Grigory Melekhov, who sincerely believes in a happy and wonderful communist future, is ready to give his life for the well-being and prosperity of his native land. But in the context of life, bright revolutionary ideas turn out to be untenable, dead. Gregory understands that the struggle between the Whites and the Reds, seemingly aimed at a "beautiful tomorrow", in fact, is violence and reprisals against the helpless and those who disagree. Brilliant slogans turn out to be deceit, and cruelty and arbitrariness of the means are hidden behind the lofty goal. The nobility of the soul does not allow him to come to terms with the evil and injustice that he observes around. Tormented by doubts and contradictions, Gregory is trying to find the only right way that will allow him to live honestly. He is unable to justify the numerous murders committed in the name of a ghostly idea in which he no longer believes.
- The novel by A. Solzhenitsyn "The Gulag Archipelago" is a study related to the political history of the USSR, according to Solzhenitsyn - "an experience of artistic research", in which the author analyzes the history of the country - a utopia that builds an ideal world on the ruins of human lives, numerous victims and lies disguised for humanitarian purposes. The price for the illusion of happiness and peace, in which there is no place for individuality and dissent, turns out to be too high. The problematic of the novel is diverse, since it includes many questions of a moral nature: is it possible to justify evil in the name of good? What unites victims and their executioners? Who is responsible for the mistakes made? Supported by rich biographical, research material, the book leads the reader to the problem of ends and means, convincing him that one does not justify the other.
- It is human nature to search for happiness as the main meaning of life, its highest goal. For her sake, he is ready to use any means, but does not understand that this is unnecessary. The main character of the story V.M. Shukshin "Boots" - to Sergei Dukhanin - manifestations of tender feelings are by no means easy, because he is not used to unjustified tenderness and is even ashamed of it. But the desire to please his loved one, the desire for happiness, pushes him to a big waste. The money spent on buying an expensive gift turns out to be an unnecessary sacrifice, because his wife only needed attention. Generosity and the desire to give warmth and care fill the somewhat coarsened, but still sensitive soul of the hero with happiness, which, as it turned out, is not so difficult to find.
- In the novel by V.A. Kaverin "Two Captains" the problem of purpose and means is revealed in the confrontation between two characters - Sleigh and Chamomile. Each of them is driven by their own goals, each decides what is really important to him. In the search for solutions, their paths diverge, fate pushes them together in a duel that determines the moral guidelines of each, proves the noble strength of one, and the vile baseness of the other. Sanya is driven by honest sincere aspirations, he is ready for a difficult but direct path to find out the truth and prove it to others. Chamomile, on the other hand, pursues petty goals, achieving them in no less petty ways: lies, betrayal and hypocrisy. Each of them is going through the painful problem of choice, in which it is so easy to lose yourself and those you truly love.
- A person is not always clearly aware of his goal. In the novel by L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace" Andrei Bolkonsky is in search of himself and his place in life. His shaky life guidelines are influenced by fashion, society, the opinion of friends and relatives. He raves about glory and military exploits, dreams of making a career in the service, but not just rising to high ranks, but gaining eternal glory as a winner and hero. He goes to war, the cruelty and horrors of which instantly showed him all the absurdity and illusory nature of his dreams. He is not ready, like Napoleon, to go to glory over the bones of soldiers. The desire to live and make the life of other people beautiful set new goals for Bolkonsky. Meeting with Natasha instills love in his soul. However, in a moment that requires stamina and understanding from him, he gives up under the weight of circumstances and renounces his love. He is again tormented by doubts about the correctness of his own goals, and only before his death Andrei realizes that the best moments of life, its great gifts are contained in love, forgiveness and compassion.
- Character makes a person. It determines his life goals and guidelines. In "Letters about the good and the beautiful" D.S. Likhachev, the problem of the goal and the means to achieve it is considered by the author as one of the most important, forming in the young reader the concept of honor, duty, truth. “The end justifies the means” is a formula unacceptable to the author. On the contrary, every person should have a goal in life, but no less important are the methods that he uses to achieve what he wants. In order to be happy and in harmony with one's own conscience, it is necessary to make a choice in favor of spiritual values, giving preference to good deeds and beautiful thoughts.
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