a.k.a. dikaiosunê/δικαιοσύνη
Justice… as one of the cardinal virtues, covers all those things owed to other people: it is under injustice that murder, theft and lying come, as well as withholding of what is owed for instance by parents to children and by children to parents, as well as dealings which would be called unjust in everyday speech. ―Philippa Foot, Moral Beliefs
You might commit injustice from a heat-of-the-moment passion, or from a well-thought-out long-term plan. It may be that being just requires you to fortify yourself against both of these in different ways. (See e.g. Cicero, De Officiis I.8)
Complementary virtues¶
- censure / chastisement / judgment
- epieikeia
- fairness
- impartiality / objectivity?
- righteous anger
- sportsmanship
Contrasting vices¶
- acquisitiveness (pleonexia), avarice (Cicero, De Officiis I.7, lists this as a cause of injustice)
- ambition (“for empires, honor, or glory”: Cicero, De Officiis I.8)
- injustice
- partiality
- unfairness
Virtues possibly in tension¶
How to acquire or strengthen it¶
TBD
Notes and links¶
- Notes on Justice (David, LessWrong)
- Aristotle on justice et seq.
- Skills You Need: Justice/Fairness
- Justice as a Virtue (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
- OOO: Justice
Mentioned elsewhere¶
- One of Ben Franklin’s virtues
- One of Shannon Vallor’s technomoral virtues
- One of the virtues discussed in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
Inspirational quotes¶
- “Without justice there is no virtue.” ―Cicero
- “Some one asked: ‘What do you think about the principle of rewarding enmity with kindness?’ ‘With what, then, would you reward kindness?’ asked the Master. ‘Reward enmity with just treatment, and kindness with kindness.’” (Analects of Confucius, XIV.XXXVI)
