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Justice, Law and Punishment (Intro (Plato's Definition (A just society…
Justice, Law and Punishment
Intro
Law - rules that govern human relationships in a civilised society. Made and enforced by the state to enable people to live together in freedom, safety and order. Protects the weak from oppression of the strong. Justice is about enforcing these laws fairly and equally to all citizens.
Justice - derives from latin 'iustitia' meaning fairness and equality. Equality for everyone with regards to the opportunities given and the receipt of deserved treatment.
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Plato's Definition
A just society will pursue an OBJECTIVE value: 'the Good'. Does so by dividing people into classes and employing them based on their strengths.
Believed 'Philosopher Kings' should rule over the classes as they would pursue contemplation and not pleasures.
Defined justice as wisdom, courage and discipline working together in harmony.
Aristotle's Definition
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Divides justice into distribution (giving fair share of resources) and rectification (putting wrongs right).
Christian Justice - shaped by the Bible and emphasises God as the source of justice, and the life of Jesus as a pattern to follow (like him, Christians should fight against social injustice and political oppression) OBJECTIVIST
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Justice with John Rawls
Argues against the Utilitarian outlook - society should not simply maximise happiness for the majority. Does not guarantee fairness or individual rights. Justice must be OBJECTIVE and available to everyone equally.
Equal citizenship is a right for all in society - there should be no arbitrary advantage, taking advantage of power, wealth or position within society.
Concept:consider that noone knows his true place in society, or what the future holds, so we could all potentially be the most dispossessed and unfortunate in society. We must therefore ensure that noone is advantaged or disadvantaged by the system. We act through a 'veil of ignorance'.
The best approach is the one in which the least well off person gets the least bad result - shifted the focus onto the protection of the weak.
Could treat the rich and successful unfairly, surely they have a right to enjoy the benefits of their work without feeling guilty about the less well off?
Justice with Augustine
Equality (which is involved in justice) must be something other than treating everyone the same way, since everyone is different.
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Treating people unequally in special circumstances (some people demand a higher preference but still upholds equality as they need it to have same opportunities)
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Punishment - ancient concepts focused on vindictive or retributive approaches, but the 18th century rise of humanism and rationalism led to other approaches (severity and physical pain have been greatly reduced in modern Western legal systems)
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Part 2
Objectivity - cognitivism / moral realism - making propositions about things than can be known and so can be held true or false. Statements exist independently of human influence and so are true for everyone at all times.
Justice
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Christians - God is the source of all being and truth and his commands of justice are fixed and real
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Punishment
Rehabilitation - if human life is considered equal and of intrinsic worth it is an effective form of punishment
Subjectivity - ethical subjectivism / non cognitivism. No moral facts or truths. Form of ethical relativism that argues that judgements come down to the individual. Statements vary from person to person and are affected by feelings.
Justice
Hobbes - state of human nature is chaotic and therefore there is no abstract concept of justice. It is not fixed or absolute.
Nozick - justice is not an objective idea: if we follow the law we can choose for ourselves what a just use of our resources is.
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CONCLUSION - HARD TO TELL WHICH IS BETTER BUT OBJECTIVISM IS VERY UNAPPEALING COMPARED TO THE SOFT CONCEPTS OF SUBJECTIVISM - PUNISHMENT COULD BE BENEFICIAL FOR WIDER SOCIETY (UTILITARIANISM)