The Nature and Origin of Justice Term Paper

Tags: human nature nicomachean ethics moral obligation human behavior immanuel kant justice plato aristotle nature theory law philosophers freedom philosophy behavior observation wisdom god military conformity

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Introduction

Justice is one of the oldest prevailing conceptions and has been deliberated upon by numerous philosophers. It has been one of the significant issues in the historical account of philosophy. Justice, as a Greek concept, was considered to be the virtue of the soul and action. Essentially, the term just is used to define an individual who usually partakes in what is deemed to be morally right and is inclined to giving everyone what is due for him or her. The main objective of this essay is to discuss extensively the origin and nature of justice from the philosophical perspectives of key philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Hume, and Kant.

In his philosophy, Plato places a great deal of significance to the notion of justice. Plato argued that justice can be deemed as the quality of soul, in virtue of which human beings put to one side the unreasonable yearning to taste every desire and to get self-seeking gratification out of every object and lodged themselves to release of a single function for the general benefit (Scott, 2015). From the perspective of Plato, justice can be deemed to be harmony. Plato makes the argument that a state that is just is attained in a circumstance in which every individual undertakes his or her own job, where every part functions and operates with an aim to the good of the entirety. In a society that is just, the rulers, the military as well as the working individuals, all partake in which they are supposed to (Bhandari, 1998). Furthermore, in a society that is just, the rulers have wisdom, the soldiers have brevity and those producing material goods carry out self-control and are not overcome by their yearnings for gain. Plato specifies that a human being comprises of three key elements including reason, spirit, and appetite. A person is considered to be just when every part of his or her soul undertakes its functions devoid of interrupting with those of other elements. A fitting instance is that the reason ought to rule in the best interests of the whole soul with wisdom and prudence. When all of the three aforementioned elements come to the agreement that the reason alone ought to rule, then it is considered that there is justice within the individual (Bhandari, 1998).

A second renowned philosopher that delves into the origin and nature of justice is Aristotle.

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Imperatively, Aristotle asserts that justice entails in what is lawful and fair, with fairness encompassing impartial distributions and the rectification of what is inequitable. Fundamentally, Aristotle employs the term “just” in manner that brings about two separate meanings. To begin with, it is predominantly employed to delineate a conduct that is in agreement with the law. Basically, the term is used to delineate a conduct that is in conformity with whatever establishes an authoritative implement of social and moral control. Taking this into consideration, justice alludes to a moral inclination which renders human beings suitable to do just things and…

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…this in mind, it can be noted that Kant tied to ground justice in the moral autonomy of rational agents. In particular, this approach was able to set Kant apart from the numerous other philosophers that tried to justify the rules of justice by making a call to their social utility. For instance, as aforementioned, Hume considers rules of justice to be vindicated for the reason that they are pivotal to sustaining social order and prosperity. However, on the other hand, Kant does not appeal to neither experience nor social utility in his rationalization of rights and justice. Kant argues that the basic right to freedom for human beings can be rationalized by pure real-world reason devoid of resorting to experiential observations regarding the social utility of this right (Smith, 2016).

Conclusion

This paper seeks to discuss the origin and nature of justice. In regard to Plato, justice is a virtue that institutes sensible order, with every part undertaking its suitable role and not interrupting with the proper operation of other parts. From the philosophical perspective of Aristotle, justice encompasses in what is deemed to be lawful and fair, with farness taking into account equitable distributions and the act of correcting what is inequitable. As for Hume, justice fundamentally serves public utility by safeguarding property. Lastly, in the case of Kant, justice is deemed to be a virtue whereby persons respect the freedom of others, their autonomy as well as dignity by not intruding with their voluntary actions, in the….....

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References

Bhandari, D. R. (1998). Plato’s concept of justice: An analysis. Ancient Philosophy.

Chroust, A. H., & Osborn, D. L. (1941). Aristotle\'s conception of justice. Notre Dame Law., 17, 129.

Harris, J. A. (2010). Hume on the moral obligation to justice. Hume studies, 36(1), 25-50.

Harrison, J. (1980). Hume\'s theory of justice. Oxford Scholarship Online.

Reidy, D. A. (1993). Does Hume have a theory of justice? Auslegung 19(1): 63 – 74.

Scott, D. (2015). Levels of Argument: A Comparative Study of Plato\'s Republic and Aristotle\'s Nicomachean Ethics. Oxford University Press, USA.

Smith, G. H. (2016). Immanuel Kant’s Theory of Justice. Libertarianism. Retrieved from: https://www.libertarianism.org/columns/immanuel-kants-theory-justice

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