GRE作文范文 Issue-37

“If a goal is worthy, then any means taken to attain it are justifiable.”

嘉文博譯Sample Essay

This is a type of Machiavellian statement that has led many a leader down the wrong path to destruction. There are plenty of worthy goals that are truly desirable and that could be beneficial for the entire world. Then there are other goals that may be worthy for some but detrimental to others. Part of the problem is in defining what is a “worthy” goal. Even assuming that a goal is truly worthy, it is an extremely broad overstatement to say that just because a certain goal is worthy, then whatever it takes to reach that goal is justifiable.

To begin with, one must define what is a worthy goal. What may be a worthy goal for one person may not be a worth goal for another. Is it a worthy goal to desire to have a million dollars? Is it a worthy goal to want to own a beautiful home? What about the goal of having a beautiful rich wife or a handsome wealthy husband? Certainly as individuals we can say that these indeed are worthy goals. But when you look at these goals in the context of an entire society, these goals may not be commendable to the population as a whole and may in fact be detrimental to their individual well being, particularly when the individual tries to reach these goals.

Furthermore, some goals that on the surface may appear to be admirable and worthy may actually be for personal gain only. Consider the politician whose stated goal is to be elected to office in order to serve the needs of the people. While this would seem to be a laudable goal, perhaps something more sinister lurks underneath, such as the lust for power or an individual propensity for corruption. Additionally, there have been many examples in the past of religious leaders whose goals were praiseworthy and commendable on the outside. In several cases, however, it came to the public’s attention that the money that they had been raising for their so-called “worthy” goals had in fact been used to support their very luxurious homes and the very same self-indulgent, immoral lifestyles that they had been preaching so vehemently against. One needs to look beyond the stated goal to see what end is truly trying to be accomplished.

Finally, just because a goal is truly worthy does not justify any means to achieve it. Certainly it is a worthy goal to desire to eliminate a particular disease, but it does not mean that it is acceptable to kill every human that has the disease in order to eradicate it. It is a creditable goal to want to save the environment from pollution, but closing down all factories and industries because they pollute would be disastrous to the world. The goal of lowering birth rates in developing countries to ease the suffering of their populations may very well be a praiseworthy goal, but forced sterilization of their citizens is certainly out of the question. The elimination of deaths caused by traffic accidents is unquestionably a creditable goal, yet the elimination of all automobiles is a ludicrous proposition.

In summary, there are may be some extremely rare instances when reaching a goal may justify any means required to achieve it, but is hard to imagine what such a goal would be. It is difficult enough to come up with a goal that benefits an entire population and that is truly worthy. To say that any means are justified to reach that goal may very well be impossible when one considers that wide range of repercussions that may follow from such actions.

(602 words)

參考譯文

如果某個目標是值得追求的，那么為了達到這個目標所采取的任何手段都是正當?shù)摹?/p>

這是一種馬基雅維利式的說法，它導致許多領導人沿著錯誤的道路走下去直至滅亡。有許許多多值得追求的并且會對整個世界有益的目標。但是也有許多對某些人是有價值的但對其他人是有害的目標。問題的所在是如何界定什么才是“值得追求的”目標。即使假定某個目標的確是值得追求的，但如果有人說因為某個目標值得追求所以不管采取什么手段達到這一目標都是正當?shù)?，那么，這便是一種過于寬泛的夸張說法。

首先，我們必須對什么是值得追求的目標作出界定。對一個人來說能成為值得追求的目標對另一個人來說可能不能算作值得追求的目標。希望擁有一百萬美元算不算一種值得追求的目標?希望擁有一個漂亮的家算不算一種值得追求的目標?想擁有一個漂亮而又富有的妻子或者一個英俊而又有錢的丈夫，這種目標又該如何看待?毫無疑問，作為個人，我們可以說所有這些都算得上是值得追求的目標。但當你把這些目標置于整個社會這一框架下加以審視時，這些目標對于所有人來說不一定全都是值得稱道的目標，并實際上有可能是有害于他們的個人福祉，尤其是當這些個人企圖去實現(xiàn)這些目標的時候。

總而言之，有些目標表面看來是很高尚的也是值得追求的，但實際上可能僅僅關涉?zhèn)€人利益。請看一個政客，所宣稱的目標是為了當選以便服務于民眾的需要。盡管這一目標表面看來可稱可贊，但是其后很可能隱藏著某種陰險邪惡的企圖，例如權力欲或者腐敗傾向。此外，過去已有許多宗教領袖的實例可證明這一點。這些人的目標從外面看來的確可稱可贊。然而，公眾卻注意到他們在募集金錢時是為了所謂的“有價值有意義的”目標，但這些錢實際上卻被用于支付他們奢侈住宅的費用，滿足他們荒淫的、不道德的生活方式，而這些恰恰是他們在布道時最激烈反對的。所以，我們需要透過人們口頭所聲稱的目標來看清人們意欲達到的真正目標。

最后，僅僅因為一個目標是有價值的，并不能作為人們?yōu)檫_到該目標就采取任何手段的正當理由。誠然，試圖消除某種疾病是一個有價值的目標，但是這并非意味著為了消除該疾病而殺死每個患者是可以接受的。想拯救環(huán)境免受污染是一個值得稱頌的目標，但是因為工廠污染環(huán)境就關閉所有的工廠卻是人類的災難。發(fā)展中國家降低出生率以緩解其人口的苦難，這一目標是值得稱贊的，但強迫公民做絕育手術卻是不可取的。消除交通事故所造成的傷亡，無疑是一個很好的目標，但是將所有的汽車趕盡“殺”絕卻是一個荒唐的主意。

總而言之，可能有一些極個別的例子說明目標的實現(xiàn)可以證明所采用的手段是正當?shù)摹Ｈ欢覀兒茈y想像這是一個什么樣的目標。提出一個目標，它既能有利于人類，又的確有價值有意義，這不是那么容易的。當我們考慮到任何行動所產生的廣泛影響時，我們就不會說為了達到某一目標采取任何手段都是正當?shù)牧恕?/p>