Catholic Dictionary

Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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MEANS

That which is intended not for its own sake but for the sake of something else. A means always supposes an end or purpose; it is called a means because it lies between the agent and the end, and its use brings the agent to the goal or end. The same thing may be both means and end, in different respects, for it may be sought both for its own sake and for the sake of something better. This is called an intermediate end, and there may be a long series of such intermediate ends, as when a person wants A in order to get B, and B in order to get C, and so on.