Αλλ’ η Δίκη γαρ και κατά σκότον βλέπει.
– Sophocles, Oedipus
(The eye of Justice sees even in the dark.)
(I hereby nominate this for best headline ever.)
What is Justice?
Justice – the condition of being morally correct or fair
– Cambridge dictionary
It’s pretty simple: justice is fairness, and doing justice is doing the right thing in the circumstances. Sometimes it’s easy to figure out what’s right, fair, and just, like finding the way home when there’s only one road and it’s a straight shot to a visible structure. Sometimes, though, the best you can do is just the next right thing. Even figuring that out can be difficult, but there are resources to help us get better at determining the next right thing.
Trying to do what is right is important, both for us individually and for society at large. Can you imagine a country running well if more people were in prison than were free? What would happen if we could no longer trust the judicial system? This is what would happen: the country would crumble.
A republic cannot succeed, till it contains a certain body of men imbued with the principles of justice and honour.
– Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle
Justice is Absolute With Absolutely All of the Facts
In a lot of ways, justice is black-and-white: something is either just, or it’s not. However, we live in a pretty grey world; it can seem just to take a certain action one moment, but then more information comes in and that exact same action is clearly unjust and maybe even immoral.
For example, let’s say you’re in charge of a child who is outside playing. The kid comes inside and is covered in dirt and debris with grit under every fingernail. Generally, the reaction is to run some warm water, add bubbles, and scrub-a-dub-dub in the tub. That makes sense – unless that child is allergic to water. In that case, it would certainly be better to go the Elphaba route and wash with oils instead.
The same can be said for justice. Maybe we have a defendant who admits to being at the scene of the crime at the time of a murder, who was found holding the murder weapon, and who had a motive for wanting the victim dead. This scenario is as close to a slam dunk as most prosecutors can hope for! The jury is sent away to deliberate, everyone expecting to quickly move into sentencing, when someone bursts into the courtroom yelling at the defendant for trying to steal the glory for the kill. (Criminals aren’t generally known for their smarts.)
Justice in Everyday Life
Justice means that we appreciate and respect both God and other people, whether that’s honoring the Sabbath or honoring the dignity of the human person in all of its stages.
– Fr. Ben Bradshaw
Just like in court (probably even moreso), it’s not always easy to figure out what is right. However, there are a few guiding principles that can help us when we’re struggling with that question. It boils down to one big question: how can we respect everyone involved?
Ο αδικών του αδικουμένου κακοδαιμονέστερος.
– Democritus
(He who commits an act of injustice is in worse condition than he who suffers it.)
Justice and fairness is ultimately respecting the dignity of all persons involved and allowing them to accept the consequences of their actions. (Sidenote: consequences has a generally negative connotation, but the consequences of baking well are delicious baked goods – it can be positive or negative.) As a result, justice is not only fair, it is also loving: justice permits people to choose according to their will, to decide their own destiny rather than determine it for them.
In the same vein, we must also grant a quick mention to mercy: sometimes it is easier for all parties for mercy to be granted than for the full brunt force of justice to swing hard. Mercy deserves its own post, but it is worth mentioning here because sometimes mercy helps everyone involved to heal.
Mercy without justice is the mother of dissolution; justice without mercy is cruelty.
– Saint Thomas Aquinas
Summary
Justice is fairness, doing the right thing even though it may not be the popular thing. To properly know how to proceed justly, we must have all of the facts. It’s also important to consider mercy to respect the dignity of people because mercy itself is sometimes justified.
What do you think? How have you handled being the hand of justice? Have you struggled with justice, either that which you imposed or that which was imposed upon you? How do you work mercy into the equation? Let us know in the comments!
He has showed you, O man, what is good;
– Micah 6:8
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Further Reading
- Medical XPress discusses a fascinating study by Harvard University in its article The Impossibility of Immorality: Study Suggests the Brain Views Immoral Acts as if they are Impossible. The study report itself is entitled Morality Constrains the Default Representation of What is Possible.
- The Next Right Thing: A Simple, Soulful Practice for Making Life Decisions by Emily P. Freeman
