ends in themselves
Goals needing no justification
Things valued for their own sake rather than as means to achieve something else.
The phrase comes from Kantian ethics, where treating people as ends in themselves means respecting their inherent worth rather than using them merely as tools.
She pursued knowledge as an end in itself, not for career advancement.
The concept distinguishes intrinsic value from instrumental value—a friendship valued as an end in itself differs from one cultivated for networking purposes.
- intrinsic valueWorth independent of circumstance
- songMusical piece with words
- self-sufficientAble to provide independently
- intrinsicBelonging by nature
- purposefulDone with intention
hug · dance · human dignity · human beings · fulfillment · kiss · smile · essential · music · inherent · paragon · moral worth · human flourishing · categorical imperative · embrace · poem · objectives · autonomy
- ethicsmorality, deontology, dignity, sanctity of life, utilitarianism
- Kantian ethicscategorical imperative, Kant, moral law, good will, practical reason
- KantKant, categorical imperative, a priori, noumena, phenomena
ends in themselvesmeans to an end
Tool toward a goal
instruments · tools · expedients · stepping stones · vehicles
ends in themselvescommodities
Tradeable raw materials
objects · chattel · disposable · fungible · expendable
ends, ending, endings, selves, selfish, selfless, themselves, itself, himself