Human beings should be treated as 'ends' and not as 'means'

Human beings should be treated as 'ends' and not as 'means'

'Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end.' - Immanuel Kant stated this in his theory of morality ‘The Categorical Imperative’. This statement focuses on the sovereignty of an individual where he is considered rational. And this rational individual as per Kant and many philosophers is to be kept at the center of everything. Everything should be for him or her and he or she must not be for achieving something else for someone else. But is it really possible and beneficial to make sure that human beings are ends only and never means?

Yes –

1. Immanuel Kant states that it is immoral to use another person merely as a means to an end and that people must, under all circumstances, be treated as ends in themselves.

2. Kant said that rational human beings should be treated as an end in themselves and not as a means to something else. The fact that we are human has value in itself.

3. This idea applies to us too. We shouldn't treat ourselves as a means to our own ends; instead we should respect our inherent worth/value. This can be used as an argument against euthanasia, suicide and other behaviors that damage us.

4. Each human being has inherent value and we must respect it. We must not coerce someone to do our bidding.

5. Also, deception of someone for our gains is treating the person as means and not ends.

6. Consent is an important factor in this statement. We must not treat someone through coercion or deception in such ways for things, for which they will never give consent for.

7. Also, one must understand that everything is for the humans themselves. They are ends. That means that all the things are to be used to fulfill the ends which are human beings, their progress, their satisfaction and comfort. Thus humans are ends and can never and should never be used as means to achieve the ends.

8. An alternate and modern version of this concept can be seen in objectivism propounded by Ayn Rand where she through her writings suggests that - 'Man-every man-is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself for others nor sacrificing others for himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life.'

Not necessarily –

1. Kant's philosophy does not rule out all cases of using someone else to satisfy our own desires or projects. That would seem to eliminate a very large number of human interactions. Sometimes human beings are to be treated as means too.

2. If not then cooperative action is not possible to achieve something big.

3. Also many times human are used as means to achieve larger good. Some interpretations of the utilitarian view allow for the use of individuals as means to benefit the many.

4. Also many times people find satisfying when a good thing happens through them even if they are treated as just a mere vehicle for the action to take place.

5. Treating someone as means does not necessarily mean that the person is ripped off. It just means that the person is a medium used to achieve something. We see that many times people are voluntarily ready to be means for completion of an aim. For e.g. the soldiers who fight to keep us safe act as a means to achieve ends of safety and peaceful life for us.

6. Thus as long as we do not endanger or cause a loss for the human being we are using as a medium, considering him or her as means can be justified.

Many have supported this statement and one of the glaring examples of implementation of this philosophy is the human rights which we adhere to. We try to adhere to the rights which make each individual the center of benefit i.e. an end. Under no circumstances an individual is considered as a means for fulfilling someone else’s aims. Surely there are cooperative efforts to achieve greater benefits, but in this too each cooperating individual is taken care of and the benefits are shared equally among them. Thus we must respect each individual.