Examining the Concept of Justice
Introduction
Over the decades, the concept of justice has been continually evolving. This is occurring based upon different moral or legal interpretations. Evidence of this can be seen with observations from Burke (2011) who said, "Few things are of more importance to a society than its concept of justice. This is because it is justice that provides criterion for the legitimate use of force. In the name of justice people are detained, arrested, handcuffed, put on trial and punished. This concept is used to provide every society with some kind of social order. Over the last 200 years, a revolution has taken place with these principles. Our idea of it is what we employ, when dealing with ordinary individuals in daily life including: making agreements, paying bills, resolving disputes and putting criminals in jail. This is a concept that is as old as recorded history and it is familiar to people everywhere. What makes it so unique is that these ideas are constantly changing which focuses on society as a whole and how people are interacting with each other. " (Burke)
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
New concepts of justice: As the social values change, so does our views of the concept of justice. Sentencing laws are
What is justice? Justice Is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity. It is also the act of being just and/or fair. (Crime) It means to me punishment, fairness, and power by that I mean fairness as in equality for others like families, friends, and/or community. You have to have power in order to have fairness for the punishment that has been committed for example: murder, justice will prevail it always does.
The novel's commentary on the nature of justice is multifaceted and thought-provoking. It changes the conventional notion of justice as a clear-cut and impartial system. Instead, the narrative portrays justice as subjective, influenced by personal relationships, societal biases, and individual
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.
The society generally has established customs and moral imperative to guide the conduct of each member of that particular society. These norms designating certain ways in which people ought to live in the society exist in societal laws and moral prescription. The justifications for the ideal practices in the society have been found in the desire to maintain peaceful coexistence in the society. The extent of freedom of an individual is therefore often curtailed for the greater good of the society. These utilitarian considerations have been discussed amidst the concept and rationale of punishment. John Stuart Mill, Michel Foucault and Kantian ethics have been used to justify or refute the notion and rationale of punishment in our society. These ethical perspectives provide useful insight into understanding punishment and its justifications or otherwise. Punishment is necessary as a social control tool and must be exerted with reasonableness and with due regard for the aim for which it is exerted.
This class is the first in my major of Criminal Justice, and throughout this class there will be a great deal of valuable information obtained. Justice can have several meanings to it because all of us are different in our own way, and we all will have different outlook on situations. Throughout this research paper you will learn about what justice means to me, and how I think I will impact society once I achieve my bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. Secondly, you will be able to compare with the remaining of the class mates to see exactly how many of our views are the same or different. Last but not least, there will be at least two
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.
The criminal justice system views any crime as a crime committed against the state and places much emphasis on retribution and paying back to the community, through time, fines or community work. Historically punishment has been a very public affair, which was once a key aspect of the punishment process, through the use of the stocks, dunking chair, pillory, and hangman’s noose, although in today’s society punishment has become a lot more private (Newburn, 2007). However it has been argued that although the debt against the state has been paid, the victim of the crime has been left with no legal input to seek adequate retribution from the offender, leaving the victim perhaps feeling unsatisfied with the criminal justice process.
In Books I and II of The Republic of Plato Translated by Allan Bloom, there many definitions of justice. Socrates knows the definition from the start of the discussion but he wont reveal the definition until he believes Cephalus, Polemarchus, Thrasymachus, and Glaucon come up with their own definitions of justice. If they are wrong the discussion continues until they reach consensus, which is hard for them because Socrates masks his definition pretty well. For them to come up with a definition they have to look at the big picture. In book I they talk about what it means to be just. In book II they talk more about justice in the city as a whole. So in order to figure out what the true definition of justice is, you have to look at the big picture otherwise the definition can be skewed. Lastly you have to develop the definition yourself and learn and further develop your definition from talking with other people because that is the best form of education.
Compassion is the response to the suffering of others that motivates a desire to help. Its motivates people to go out their way to help physical, spiritual, or emotional hurts or pains of another. Justice can be thought of a distinct from benevolence, charity, prudence, mercy, generosity, or compassion. Equality before the law. The law raises important and complex issues concerning equality, fairness, and justice. Compassionate emotions in relation to others has affected the prefrontal cortex, inferior frontal cortex, and the midbrain. What justice means to me is being punished for a crime that was committed. Seeing that the offender pays for what they have done. This so called punishment usually entails some type of prison sentence or maybe
The issue of distributive justice and the question of whether it should be up to the possessor to do what they please with the money and property that they earn, inherit, or otherwise acquire has long been one of the most contentious political issues. This issue has been the cause of countless revolutions and was one of the key differences between the powers in the Cold War. While this question is often viewed in black and white terms, in reality the answer to this question is not simple and straightforward.
What does Justice mean to me? Coming into the course I was always taught that Justice is the quality of being just; the treatment of people that is fair and morally right. Now that I have taken Justice and Society and went more in depth of what Justice really is, those thoughts were pushed from my mind. I have come to realize that the law resembles little to nothing to the ideas of justice and fairness I previously had. To me, I now view Justice as a way for us to refrain from political influences and have a realistic discussion about what sort of society we really want to live in. My beliefs and ideas about what Justice means addressed in this reflection relate to what I gathered from Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do by Michael J.
Before asking, “Do we live in a just society?” one must have a solid understanding of what is justice, and which behaviors are considered just or unjust. This is where a major dilemma arises. Defining justice in a way every person can agree is not only unrealistic, but has also never been achieved since the beginning of time. Perhaps the issue of establishing a just society does not lie in a concrete “definition” of justice, but rather lies in the complexity of society, as well as the varying perspectives of what justice is to each individual.
Justice can be described as the fairness, equity, evenhandedness, neutrality, honesty, righteousness, and morality given to the people by the governments, as well as other people. Justice should be given all around the world, but it is not always given. From the past to this day, there has been a lot of justice, and the society along with the governments have come a long way to reach the justice we have today. A person who played a major role in giving us the justice we see today is Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King was a major factor in the laws we see today regarding equality, and he set the stage for what society should be like today. An analysis of, “A Letter for Birmingham Jail,” and, “Segregation Now,” will tell what
Justice is characterized as an ethical stand normally considered being the end which law endeavours to accomplish. The capacity of law by and large is to change the clashing interests of society. Starting here of view equity is characterized as the congruous mixing of the narrow minded enthusiasm of man with the prosperity of the general public.