 They might defend the view that while it is always wrong pro tanto to treat another merely as a means, doing so is sometimes morally permissible, all things considered. In other words, we always have strong moral reasons not to treat others merely as means, but these reasons can be outweighed by other moral considerations, presumably including the good of many lives being preserved. If, contrary to Kant’s view, the moral constraint against treating others merely as means is not absolute, then a question arises as to when it gets overridden.