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Ethics: Questions & Morality of Human Actions, 3rd Edition

Justice

by James M. Dawsey

Definition: Fundamental moral principle or ideal according to which each person should receive the treatment he or she deserves

Type of ethics: Theory of ethics Significance:Aconcept of justice or moral desert is arguably the foundation of ethical judgment, and it underpins all legal and social systems in which a punishment or reward is designed to fit the actions or character of the person receiving it. Such words as fairness, equality, honesty, equity, integrity, and lawfulness, which are sometimes used as synonyms for justice, indicate the social order that is connoted by the term. In common speech, justice indicates both right relationships among people and a correct social norm—that is, one that establishes a course of expected conduct.

The roots of the modern Western view of justice can be traced to the Hebrew Bible, on one hand, and to Greek philosophy, on the other. Many social reformers, in particular, have been influenced by the Hebrew prophets. Thus, for example, the Martin Luther King, Jr., memorial in Montgomery, Alabama, is inscribed with the words of the eighth century bce prophet Amos: “...until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream” (Amos 5:24). In the Hebrew Bible, justice (tsedaqah) is a quality of God. God delights in it and wishes it for his people. The laws of God make clear his nature and his will. If the people do as he has commanded, then they too will be just. Thus, tsedaqah indicates a right relationship between the people and God. It indicates proper balance or right order. The fruits of justice are peace and abundance. The Hebrew prophets especially emphasized the social dimension of tsedaqah by claiming that a right relationship with God is possible only when people act justly toward one another. According to the prophet Amos, this meant that God would not revoke punishment from a society that allowed the righteous to be sold for silver and the poor to be trampled into the dust of the earth (Amos 2:6-7).

Early Western Philosophers

The oldest surviving Western writings that examine the nature of justice are those of the Greek philosopher Plato. Although Plato raised questions concerning justice (dikaiosyne) in several dialogues, his fullest treatment of the subject is found in the Republic. In that work, one of the characters, Thrasymachus, defines justice as the interest of the stronger—namely the ruling class—as expressed in society’s laws. As in the case of the Hebrewprophets, justice in this context indicates correct relationships among people. Since according to Thrasymachus the activity of rulers is governed by self-interest, however, and the obedience of the subjects is dictated by their weaker position, for him just subjects are those who obey the rulers of the state. Thus, Thrasymachus closely identifies justice with civil power, and since the rulers formulate the laws of the state, he also equates justice with civil lawfulness.

Socrates, the protagonist of the Republic, however, counters by claiming that justice is not only good for rulers but is also good “for its own sake.” He does this, first, by arguing that rulers do not always act in their own self-interest. According to Socrates, states exist precisely because people are not self-sufficient. In an ideal state, the rulers would be those who would act always for the good of the state, at all times putting its interests ahead of their own. The good unites the state, while the bad divides it. A good state, like a good person, contains the four cardinal virtues of wisdom, bravery, temperance, and justice. Justice, for Socrates, means that each person in the state performs his or her proper function. Thus, justice provides the right balance or harmony among the parts. To Socrates, the unjust person is dominated by the appetites and emotions, whereas the just person is controlled by reason. The unjust state would be governed by a despot; the just state would be ruled by a philosopher-king.

“Justitia” by Maarten van Heemskerk, 1556. “Justitia” carries symbolic items such as: a sword, scales and a blindfold.

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The views of justice advocated by Thrasymachus and Socrates have been represented many times in the history of Western philosophy. The positive law theory of justice holds that justice depends on authority, agreement, or convention. For example, the social contract advocated by Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan (1651) closely connects justice with civil law. Hobbes imagined life without laws to be akin to a war in which each person seeks his or her own advantage, “a war as if of every man against every man.” Out of their fear of anarchy and in order to preserve themselves, then, people agree in common to hand power over to the state, or Leviathan, which has coercive power and can enforce its laws. A just person, according to Hobbes, is one who follows the laws of the state.

Like Socrates, John Locke held to a natural rights theory of justice. In Concerning the True Original Extent and End of Civil Government, he wrote that the law of nature taught that all people were equal and independent, and that “no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.” It was the duty of the state to protect people’s natural rights. While Locke agreed with Hobbes in thinking that people willfully entered into a compact and thus formed the state, sovereignty, he thought, ultimately remained with the people. The purpose of the laws and the duty of rulers should be to represent and execute the will of the people. If the legislative or executive powers should betray their trust, they then should be counted as unjust and should be deposed.

One of the characters of the Republic, Glaucon, hints at but does not elaborate on a third view of justice; namely, that it is a social convention. According to this view, as developed by advocates such as David Hume and John Stuart Mill, justice is what promotes the welfare of society. It depends upon society, and it is a social product rather than a natural right. Justice is the basis of rights and laws, which are either just or unjust insofar as they promote the social good. Thus, this view of justice is sometimes called the social good theory of justice, and its proponents are perhaps most concerned with questions of how to perceive and identify the common good.

Further Reading

1 

Adamiak, Richard. Justice and History in the Old Testament. Cleveland, Ohio: J. T. Zubal, 1982.

2 

Adler, Mortimer J. Six Great Ideas—Truth, Goodness, Beauty, Liberty, Equality, Justice: Ideas We Judge By, Ideas We Act On. New York: Macmillan, 1981.

3 

Allen, Sir Carleton Kemp. Aspects of Justice. London: Stevens, 1958.

4 

Feinberg, Joel. Rights, Justice, and the Bounds of Liberty. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1980.

5 

O’Manique, John. The Origins of Justice: The Evolution of Morality, Human Rights, and Law. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003.

6 

Rawls, John. Justice as Fairness: A Restatement. Edited by Erin Kelly. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press, 2001.

7 

_______. A Theory of Justice. Rev. ed. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1999.

8 

Tillich, Paul. Love, Power, and Justice: Ontological Analyses and Ethical Applications. New York: Oxford University Press, 1972.

9 

Vallentyne, Peter, ed. Equality and Justice. New York: Routledge, 2003.

See also: Fairness; Hobbes, Thomas; Leviathan; Locke, John; Platonic ethics; Republic; Social justice and responsibility.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Dawsey, James M. "Justice." Ethics: Questions & Morality of Human Actions, 3rd Edition, edited by George Lucas & John K. Roth, Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Ethics_1021.
APA 7th
Dawsey, J. M. (2019). Justice. In G. Lucas & J. K. Roth (Eds.), Ethics: Questions & Morality of Human Actions, 3rd Edition. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Dawsey, James M. "Justice." Edited by George Lucas & John K. Roth. Ethics: Questions & Morality of Human Actions, 3rd Edition. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2019. Accessed December 14, 2025. online.salempress.com.