Essay The Many Interpretations of Justice over History

The Republic by Plato examines many aspects of the human condition. In this piece of writing Plato reveals the sentiments of Socrates as they define how humans function and interact with one another. He even more closely Socrates looks at morality and the values individuals hold most important. One value looked at by Socrates and his colleagues is the principle of justice. Multiple definitions of justice are given and Socrates analyzes the merit of each. As the group defines justice they show how self-interest shapes the progression of their arguments and contributes to the definition of justice.

What is justice? Is it a fitting punishment for a crime? Or a court or officer of the law? Is it the law itself? It has many definitions and interpretations, depending on various people. Some interpret it very simply, saying that it is fairness in every situation. Others give the word more complication, saying that it is doing what is morally right and fair. Oxford Dictionary defines it as many things, including, “Just behaviour or treatment...The quality of being fair and reasonable.” Black’s Law Dictionary defines justice as, “The constant and perpetual disposition to render every man his due.” All are various meanings and interpretations of one, single, word, that has been explored in many books and novels, including one by Harper Lee. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the characters of Atticus and Mr. Raymond to show the meaning of true justice and how it transcends prejudicial divisions.

However, he then distinguishes between just and unjust laws, insisting that an individual has both a right and a responsibility to break unjust laws. He defines just laws as those that uphold human dignity, and unjust laws as those that “degrade human personality.” Unjust laws, he argues, hurt not only the oppressed, but also the oppressors, since they are given a false sense of superiority.

As per above analysis, therefore, I strongly agree with assertion that laws can be classified as just and unjust. Yet, a far more important issue to talk about later is what people should do in face of just of unjust laws.

For example, in The Round House justice is what happens when the scale of morality is balanced out. As such, it is a concept of rightness. When someone does something wrong, they must pay for it. The recognition and consequences of their crime are recognized as justice. Justice has so many aspects to it that many people get caught up in the webs of the justice system. Some would argue that seeking justice

Despite what the dictionary says, there are many definitions of the word justice based on the world’s opinions. The opinions then depend on the situation at hand. There is the discussion of justice for the person who has been hurt, for the person who has conceived a crime, and even for those who have committed an accident. In the end, justice is intended to establish an equal solution for any circumstance. Every person in society deserves to be punished equally for the crimes they have committed to ensure justice is served.

Justice is defined by the fairness in protection of rights and punishment of wrongs. This concept intends to offer a fair punishment that fits the offense. The term itself holds a positive connotation, in contrast to the word injustice. The United States’ judicial system built its operations off of granting justice to those put on trial. Judges within the judicial system strive to hold fair trials in order to prosecute offenders accordingly.

While reading “Justice: Where Do You Stand?” by Jeremy Greenberg, I really understood with what he was stating, because most people don’t really know what justice is. People do not know what it is, but do things that are harsh and say it’s justice. When reading the essay I got to learn more about justice and what it is meant to do, but then I asked myself I do not usually see this type of justice, because people have changed it overtime. People have changed the true meaning of justice, they have combined justice with vengeance and retribution. Jeremey believes if we as a people put aside vengeance and retribution, replace them with kindness and respect to one another; it’ll bring fairness and equality to everyone. Making justice with this type

A law is said to be just when it is ordained for the common good, does not exceed the power of the lawgiver and any burdens put on the subjects are done proportionally and equally and aim for the common good (Aquinas in Dimock, ed., 2002, p.20). In comparison an unjust law can be contrary to the human good and additionally opposing to the divine good. A law can conflict with the human good in one of three ways; either through its end, author or its form. A lawmaker issues an unjust law according to its end when he “imposes on his subjects burdensome laws, conducive not to the common good, but rather to his own cupidity or vainglory” (Aquinas in Dimock, ed., 2002, p.20). If a lawmaker imposes a law that favors the leader but at the same time imposes unfair burdens on the whole of society, it can be assumed that he is working for his glory and selfish desires.

Our justice system regularly makes decisions that would be universally considered just and in the very same day makes decisions that are universally considered unjust. Based on this, justice must be more about the intention. For the sake of argument imagine a judge who intends with every fiber of his being to be just, makes a decision that in the end turns out to be unjust. I would say this man could still be considered just. Regardless of the outcome, the intention should determine the question of just or unjust. If that same judge admits his mistake and does his best to rectify the situation, he would certainly be considered just. On the other hand if he realizes the mistake and does nothing then he is most unjust. Human beings are incapable of unfailing justice, but when you intend to be just, you should then be considered a just person. So justice must be the intention of the person or entity to pursue truth and fairness.

The statement "It is better that 10 guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer" summarises and highlights the mistakes and injustices in the criminal justice system. In a just society, the innocent would never be charged, nor convicted, and the guilty would always be caught and punished. Unfortunately, it seems this would be impossible to achieve due to the society in which we live. Therefore, miscarriages of justice occur in the criminal justice system more frequently than is publicised or known to the public at large. They are routine and would have to be considered as a serious problem in our society. The law is what most people respect and abide by, if society cannot trust the law that governs them, then there will

The criminal justice system incorporates some of the standards of biblical justice, while disregarding others. Biblical and secular justice both require the recognition of a criminal act and necessitate the application of an appropriate punishment. When God established His law the ultimate goal intended was to bring justice that promotes forgiveness and restoration of the sinner in honor of His covenant with mankind. Psalm 130:3-4 says, “If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared” (KJV). Criminal law’s definition of justice suggests the idea of redemption while penalizing and punishing offenders in an effort to exact vengeance and maintain order and peace.

The conventional accounts of Justice normally begin by stating a fundamental rule of Aristotle – Justice is to treat equals equally and unequals unequally, and that unequal treatment should be in proportion to the inequality. In everyday life though, justice is seen as an attribute of law, while all laws are not necessarily just. Many great socio- political movements of the world have focused from time to time on unjust laws eg Apartheid laws in South Africa and Caste laws in India. Impartiality and fairness are understood to be the two aspects of justice. But it would be misleading to suggest that Justice refers solely to the fair application of a rule.

Justice, as one definition in the Oxford-English Dictionary, is the quality of being just or right as a human or divine attribute; moral uprightness; just behavior or dealing as a concept of principle. Those that deserve justice can be both good and bad people, but sometimes outside forces affect whether or not that justice is served, or if it is served in the right way at all. Two classic novels, To Kill A Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby both show how justice can work in both directions, even though both books have characters that did not get what they deserved in the end.

This is illustrating how the concept of justice is continually evolving based upon changing social norms and values. To fully understand what is taking place requires focusing on moral justice and how it is influencing society. This will be accomplished by studying one of the selections from the justice section in the book World of Ideas. Together, these elements will provide