The phrase “ends justify the means” originally came from a context of ruling a state where it meant more like “beneficial longer term outcomes may matter more than whatever condemnation comes in the short term”. It was never about whether such acts are good or bad, just that from a wider point of view they might be judged worthwhile.
I don’t think the phrase originally came from any singular context or source. As it was a common enough view in all the major ancient civilizations, Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Indus, and the North China Plain.
It also seems unlikely to have originated in ruling a state generally since recent historiography is confident that certain professions, such as prostitution, likely predate any recorded organized state.
The phrase “ends justify the means” originally came from a context of ruling a state where it meant more like “beneficial longer term outcomes may matter more than whatever condemnation comes in the short term”. It was never about whether such acts are good or bad, just that from a wider point of view they might be judged worthwhile.
I don’t think the phrase originally came from any singular context or source. As it was a common enough view in all the major ancient civilizations, Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Indus, and the North China Plain.
It also seems unlikely to have originated in ruling a state generally since recent historiography is confident that certain professions, such as prostitution, likely predate any recorded organized state.