[image: euc.edu.au]

Justice

Too often we think of the law and verdicts when we use the term justice. We say that justice is served when wrongdoing is punished, or when the punishment fits the crime. The scales are balanced, so to speak, when retribution has been meted out. An “eye for an eye” or “a tooth for a tooth” are expressions of bashing back for having been bashed. Such a point of view is too limited for my sensibilities and too harsh for my acceptance. It elevates tyrants and tyranny, disrespect for each other; while praising the legal profession, laws, judges, prisons, and the gallows more than they deserve. I believe justice casts a much wider net; it is softer in tone; and more soothing to the soul. By my reckoning justice is a measure of how well we are doing on a grander scale. It is the state of civilization, the accordance of ends and means, and the extent to which we find ourselves worthy of being in harmony with and part of Nature. Ultimately, it is how close we come to being like our own notions of perfection. Needless to say, so far, we have failed all those definitions or measures miserably.

Anthropologists tell us that early “man” (to include both genders) was more in danger from others than from nature and the elements. Hunters and foragers were more likely to be killed when confronting other hunters and foragers than they were from animals, earthquakes, or fires. We might also include rapists, pillagers, and plunderers among those intent on bashing their way to perdition. From early times it seems that this notion of justice has been more of an inglorious thing about what man is, rather than something more elevated, or what man could be. If the scales of justice are more cosmic in scope than being merely limited to the more myopic view of laws, then perhaps it is worthwhile to re-think what we can do or should do to lift ourselves up and find more of the good that we can do than to dwell exclusively on the bad that we are doing.

In this sense justice is more of a reward than a punishment. It at least accentuates the positive. And so, what are the component parts of justice? It is often described by the acts and the teachings of Socrates when he said he was in search for the Good life.

The Good life can be summed up by a list of virtues that many of us strive to be more like. Together, they are nearly the opposite of revenge and punishment. They are the antithesis of compliance with the law, although they are not lawlessness. In no particular order they are knowledge, understanding, forgiveness, courage, temperance, benevolence, and mercy. And according to Socrates by discussing and living in accordance with these attributes makes us wiser, kinder, happier and just. Perhaps that is not perfection, but it sure sounds a lot different from what we are now.

Ultimately, are we not in search of ourselves, living in peace with each other and treating each other with respect, living to find the good that we can do? If not, then why are we here?