What is Justice essays

What is Justice essays Justice is a term used in many different contexts and has a range of subtle meanings. A common definition of justice is "The quality of being just; integrity, impartiality; rightness; the awarding of what is due: the (Chamber's Dictionary). This shows that justice can be perceived in many different ways; from the implementation of laws to moral and ethical and I understand the term justice in its broadest sense. I tend to view justice in a more Platonic way. Justice as a concept should not be separated from other related concepts such as morality, ethics and compassion. However, the idealistic view of justice must be married to the practical, and there are legal aspects of justice that need to be spelled out. These include aspects such as the protection of rights and property. However, the legal practicalities of law should never be dissociated from the wider moral context of humanity and understanding. The following quotation expresses the concept of justice as I understand it. "The concept of social justice is best understood as forming one part of the broader concept of justice in general. To comprehend it properly, we should begin by looking at justice as a whole, and then attempt to mark off that division of justice which we call social justice. It takes only a little reflection to realize that the terms 'just' and 'justice' have a broad use. (Miller, 1979, p. 17) The Platonic sense of justice is also relevant to understanding Justice in its "broadest context." Plato placed a high degree of emphasis on justice in his philosophy and he believed that justice was a cure for many of the social evils of his time. Justice, in his philosophy, is seen to be an important part of human nature, a virtue, which is in fact a form ...