<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article does not cite any sources . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (October 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> In philosophy, the term "means to an end" refers to any action (the means) carried out for the sole purpose of achieving something else (an end). It can be thought of as a metaphysical distinction as no empirical information differentiates actions that are means to ends from those that are not--that are "ends in themselves". It has been incurred that all actions are means to other ends--this is relevant when considering the meaning of life . </P> <P> Immanuel Kant's theory of morality, the categorical imperative, states that it is immoral to use another person merely as a means to an end and that people must--under all circumstances--be treated as ends in themselves . This is in contrast to some interpretations of the utilitarian view, which allow for use of individuals as means to benefit the many . </P> <P> Economics is ultimately a societal system which distinguishes means from ends . Modern economists, such as ecological economists, point out that our ultimate means are not labor or artifacts created through human production, but instead are ecological services provided by nature in the form of energy, low - entropy matter, chemical and biological composition as well as habitat stability . </P>

Being used as a means to an end