“Cum finis est licitus, etiam media sunt lictia” is the Latin for “the end justifies the means”. No. It doesn’t and must not be sanctioned with acceptance. If the end is ignoble no means are justifiable. The acceptance of the idiom will mean that when the end is permitted, the means also stand permitted.

If procuring great happiness for highest number of people is the motive, it doesn’t mean that immoral action (means) is allowed. No expediency of any sorts can be a tool to sacrifice morals. T. S. Eliot put it aptly: “The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason.”

As a corollary to my thought, I am tempted to use words of Aldous Huxley, where he says, “The end cannot justify the means, for the simple and obvious reason that the means employed determine the nature of the ends produced “.

The difference between a moral man and a man of honour is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, even when it has worked and he has not been caught. “Everything’s got a moral, if only you can find it” (Alice in Wonderland- Lewis Carroll). Moral standards are not to be confused as statements for stagnation of society, instead the standard must be perceived as statement of immortality. Truth cannot ever be a negative quality.

Morality is a feel-good factor and immorality renders to the soul a feel bad factor, post, an act, deed or spoken word. Smile dances upon morality while frown frocks immorality. Moral standards are meant to subjugate the base and animal instincts man possess.

Moral values are shaped by cultural, societal, religious and universal principles of good behaviour, inclusive of ethics, forbearance, tolerance and justice. These moral standards serve as a beacon of light to guide individuals in the dark maze of life, in making a proper estimation of what is right and what is not. The results of this determination serve to influence our thoughts, behaviour and conduct.

“Without civic morality communities perish; without personal morality their survival has no value.” (Bertrand Russell).

The essential principles of moral standards, upon which hinges the........

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