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Full Idea
Everything that can be taken as an end cannot be defined. Means, such as power and money, are easily defined, and that is why people orient themselves exclusively towards the acquisition of means.
Gist of Idea
Ends, unlike means, cannot be defined, which is why people tend to pursue means
Source
Simone Weil (Reflections on Value [1941], p.31)
Book Ref
Weil,Simone: 'Late Philosophical Writings' [Notre Dame 2015], p.31
A Reaction
Nice, but too neat, because so many activities can be treated either as means or as ends, and often as both. It makes sense that people pursue what is clear to them.
| 23881 | All thought about values is philosophical, and thought about anything else is not philosophy [Weil] |
| 23883 | Minds essentially and always strive towards value [Weil] |
| 23882 | Ends, unlike means, cannot be defined, which is why people tend to pursue means [Weil] |
| 23884 | Truth is a value of thought [Weil] |
| 23885 | Philosophy aims to change the soul, not to accumulate knowledge [Weil] |
| 23886 | Systems are not unique to each philosopher. The platonist tradition is old and continuous [Weil] |