Lesson 4 of 11 · 6 minutes
Ends and means
An end is the desired state. A means is whatever the actor uses to try to reach it.
Situation
Someone says, 'My goal is to make more money.' After questioning, they admit they want control over their schedule.
What changed in the analysis?
Answering is the main action. The other two controls open the distinctions without marking the lesson complete.
Goal, means, alternative
Write down one goal. Then ask: is this the end, or only a means to a deeper end?
A lot of confusion disappears when you stop treating means as ends. Praxeology trains that separation.
The means-ends framework is basic to praxeological reasoning and appears throughout Human Action. Open the source for this claim →
Connected lab
See the same distinction move.
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No graded answer