As it seems that most folks are posting about Justice (and I’ll end up there, too) I’m going to post about an aspect that strays a bit from topic, but is still incredibly relevant: the soul.
Taking two philosophy classes in one semester is kinda a bonus, it seems. Here, we're reading Plato and in my Ethics class, we're reading Aristotle, who we know was Plato's student. It's interesting to see how Plato presented Socrate's ideas and how Aristotle expanded them over his years.
Concerning Justice, and the Good, and the Right, I think it's necessary to take in both Philosophers (which we will). They both speak to the tripartite soul. They explain how the appetite and spirit MUST be governed by the rational aspect (psyche) in order for us to (a) function as a society (b) maintain a virtuous and just life, and (c) distinguish ourselves from animals.
As we’ve talked about in class, (a) and (b) are cyclical cause and effect elements. They are chicken-and-egg, which came first, the just man or the just state. But what we often neglect is (c), that without reason (and willpower, which I’ll briefly speak to), we wouldn’t be doing much outside the realm of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. The fact that we have this notion of Justice, of Right and wrong, of Good, is an amazing distinction we have that (we assume) animals do not, this conscience is an interesting thing. But what goes along with this is: how natural is it for us to be moral? How natural is it for us to sit still, sit quietly in class for 50 minutes without interrupting the professor, eating while she’s talking, or sleeping in the middle of class? Without this conscience, this rationality, we probably wouldn’t even show up to class.
Therein lies the affects of sociology and culture. Since none of us grows up in a vacuum, every society places its own value on certain acts. Therefore, what is Just is relative, isn’t it? The definition of Justice itself is an ideal; there is no way to determine it, no way to achieve it, no way to secure it. This is why individual nations must dictate their own laws, make their own rulings, and govern their people the way they see works for their people. Humans are social creatures, but can we just reflect for a moment on how we got here? I mean, as countries, as nations, as individuals attending Rhodes. What cultural, regional, religious moralities have influenced our definitions of justice and how we in turn have affected the global population?
This is a very interesting post because it raises many common questions that there really aren't any solid answers for. I like your point about whether justice is relative or not. In class, one of the characteristics of justice we came up with was a consistent, rule based system. Although this is ideal, it probably isn't very realistic because not only are there relativities from one society to another but members of a particular society vary as well. I also liked that you brought up the question of whether it is natural for us to be moral. For example, is it moral for a parent to steal food for their child if that is the only way to feed them? Stealing is understood to be morally wrong but the parental instinct is to do what is necessary to feed a child. So is it natural to act in a moral way or based off instincts? I enjoyed reading your post! It is very thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteI am in agreement with Esha in that this post brought several intriguing questions to mind. First, I recall the topic of the relativity of morality being addressed in our class discussion on Plato. He believed that in a just state there would be no starvation, therefore no need to steal. However, seeing as how this is the ideal notion of justice, I liked your outlook that our conscience, which is the result of social and cultural influence, is basically our moral compass. Also, one of Esha’s last questions on whether or not it is natural to act off of morals or instincts in conjunction with Mallory’s point on human’s distinctions from animals grabbed my attention. The in depth look into the true meaning of right and wrong is exactly the type of thing that sets us apart from other mammals; the ability to reason is distinctively human.
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