Ends and Means

After the last post, I was thinking about this.

It seems very important to be able to distinguish the ends from the means--especially if you're trying to understand what you want to create in the world.

It also seems very easy to conflate the ends with the means, especially if the two are closely aligned. For example with money, we say we want money, because money is the primary means by which we can accomplish our ends. Or with employment, because employment seems to be the only way to get money. But both employment and money are primarily means and not ends

Certain productive activities may be ends in themselves--e.g., gardening, woodworking, etc., where the process is considered therapeutic by the worker--but these specific activities are distinct from the general concept of "employment" or "a job" or the generic "work" (when the term remains unspecified).

Why does this matter? Well, if you confuse a means for an end, you are then working towards something other than what you want. For example, one who confuses having employment with having enough money to pay the bills and still have a little left over may get stuck with employment that doesn't provide enough money to pay the bills. Or one who believes that money will provide happiness may get rich without being happy.

If we want to achieve a goal, it is important to keep clear on what the goal is and not confuse it with the means. If we confuse the goal with the means, we can lose sight of the options that we have to reach the goal.

Another problem is that confusing the means with the end allows others to lead us astray. What does advertising do? It shows you people having a great time and provides the subtext that the way to have a great time is to purchase a specific product. For example, McDonald's current ad campaign has the slogan "I'm lovin' it" or something like that. They are claiming that there product is the means to an end. And they are getting you to focus on that means of achieving the end to the exclusion of others (they want you to spend your money on them, not the competitor). But the means doesn't guarantee the end. Eating McDonald's won't necessarily mean you're "lovin' it", and driving a fancy car won't suddenly mean that you start dating fashion models.

Wouldn't it be great if we were able to keep our ends and means clear, so that we were making good decisions and really growing and developing towards a life filled with the things that are most important to us?