There are times that ends do justify the means and there are times that they do not. It all depends on the decision-making environment. If the goals to be achieved are good and the means are noble, the ends justify the means. If the means to achieve a positive end are wrong or unjust, the ends do not justify the means. Unfortunately, most people’s decisions do not justify the means, but they believe they do because the result is a positive outcome for them. The classic example of stealing bread for your family is very hard to distinguish if the act is justified. The ends are justified, but the means are wrong. The ends do not justify the means in this scenario. An example of ends justifying the means is someone wanting to better the lives of their family, so they go to school and ultimately get a better paying job. The goal of improving the lives of the family is good and noble. The means to achieve that were good and noble as well. The person didn’t do anything illegal like sell drugs to gain the money. They went to school and worked hard.
The pleasure and pain of non-human animals do matter because they are living things. However, I believe it is just if it is for a good end. If someone needs to kill a deer for food to survive, the pleasure and pain is justified. If a person is stranded on a deserted island with animals, killing those animals for food is just. This is due to the fact that it is a matter of life or death for the stranded human. If animals are being used by humans to test cosmetics, that is wrong and not just. I understand hunting as a sport, but I don’t believe it is just. Recreational hunting is ultimately killing for pleasure. Killing animals for no justified reason is wrong. However, if I had to make a choice between saving a human and an animal, I would save the human ten out of ten times. Human lives are worth more.
It doesn’t matter how wealthy, how good-looking or how famous someone is. I was brought up believing that everyone is equal because we were all created the same. Everybody should be altruistic. I still believe that, but it is hard. There are terrible people out there that shouldn’t be considered equal to others. A truly good person should be willing to sacrifice their life for another if the right circumstance arose. An example is a soldier in battle jumping on a grenade so his buddy can live. He put his buddy’s life before his own. It just isn’t right that people think they are better than others. Those are the people whose lives are worth less than others. Unfortunately, there are people in the world that could be considered to be worth less than others. The lives of criminals and terrorists are definitely not worth the same as other people. How could someone justify Adolf Hitler’s life being worth more than someone else? My life is not worth more than others, but my life should be worth more than absolutely horrible people.