What Is Justice?

What is Justice?

Many have attempted to explain and define the idea of justice. However, it seems to remain just that: an idea of justice. This topic has been pondered since the beginning of pondering, yet is still not fully defined. In a legal sense, justice is the act creating fair laws and upholding those laws. In a spiritual aspect justice serves as a moral compass for personal sense of peace. Justice has also been mythicized by some and given the power

to correct equality similar to the Hindu belief of Karma. Whether justice is a set of world wide beliefs or lies within the soul of a single person, it is difficult to define and may mean many different things to many different people. Justice seems to be balance, a very delicate equilibrium, between three majors ideas. Several common sources agree that these three ideas are: fairness, moral rightness and conformity.

Fairness is described in the eyes of the law as punishing those who commit crimes and awarding compensation to those who suffer. Within one's mind, fairness would be the ability to treat all as equals, to do no harm to those who are good and seek compensation for personal loss. Plato has referred to the repaying of debts as a way

to maintain fairness and justice (Plato 2000). Laws and moral standards have been created to serve this purpose. Balance of fairness is crucial to society. Marina Hernandez, a student of philosophy at Butte College writes "If life was fair there would be no challenges to prove ourselves," (2007). The unfair aspects of society serve a purpose as important as the fair aspects. They allow decisions to be made as to what is just and what is not.

Moral rightness is another very difficult term to define that must also stay in delicate balance. Plato states that " justice is the art that gives good to friends and justice to enemies" (2000). However, in reality, issues can not be so clear and easily resolved. That is where balance plays an important role. Plato also describes that justice lies in the inward man more important that the outward man. He suggests that peace within one's self is the key to inner justice or moral rightness (2000). Moral people in the world serve a great justice to society. However, if all were perfectly moral, there would be no need to debate the meaning of justice. Laws and moral standards are created to protect all and serve to prevent injustice and most were created in response to one's injustice.

The laws and moral expectations of society are only effective if the members of that society abide by them. Conformity to the regulations set by society is what ensures that justice continues. Plato even goes a step further to suggest that not only obeying laws, rules and standards is necessary for justice to occur, but that one must stand up for what is just. He suggested that knowing of injustice and not acting is as undesirable as