Same Motive, Different Crime

Do the ends justify the means, or vice versa? If you wanted to catch Osama, would you torture his underlings to find out where he is? Is prostitution permissible? Or abortion?

I think the Japanese have probably found the principle that trumps both ends and means. The motivation that a person holds for performing the means and achieving the ends, determines whether each is good or bad. The question at the top of the article is not even relevant, rather the simple WHY.

Two people are in prostitution, but the one who does it to take care of her child, may get more kudos than one who simply needs a new fix to satisfy her addiction.

This principle also implies that ends and means always need to be seen in combination. Separately they mean nothing, lack context. Together they shape if the motivations are consistent.