What is justice, opinions vary. But justice does exist objectively, at least from a conscious level. Based on objectivism, this article grasps justice from the perspective of appearanceism.
Justice is an eternal topic in human society.
The History of the Concept of Justice#
In history, the Latin word for "justice" (Justice) was named after the ancient Roman goddess of justice, Justitia. Plato regarded justice as a general virtue; Aristotle divided justice into distributive justice and corrective justice, and called it "fairness is proportionality"; Thomas Aquinas defined justice as a habit; Hobbes believed that justice only exists under a certain order; Bentham advocated that the standard of justice should be based on "utility"; Proudhon believed that justice means a system that allows everyone to be satisfied with the least obstacles and waste; Rawls' theory of justice as fairness believes that justice should first adhere to the principle of maximum equality and freedom, and on this basis, treat disadvantaged groups differently...
Justice under Objectivism#
What is justice, opinions vary. But justice does exist objectively, at least from a conscious level. Based on objectivism, this article grasps justice from the perspective of appearanceism. Unlike Marxist materialism, objectivism does not actively distinguish between material consciousness, but understands the problem from a material perspective. In the view of objectivism, consciousness is also material. Distinguishing between material consciousness is unnecessary. As a concept, justice does not only exist in ideas, or rather, what is the material basis that supports justice?
Justice is not necessarily achieved#
We can say that justice is God's rule, but justice is exerted by humans. The Declaration of Independence of the United States declares that all men are created equal. This equality did not exist before the Emancipation Proclamation. It was just that this right was realized through the development of various contradictions. We can say that this is the result of the struggle of black people, or we can say that it is the victory of the bourgeoisie represented by the North in the Civil War, or we can say that it is a coincidence in terms of war tactics.
The relationship of cause and effect is objectively existent. Many causes contribute to the same thing, even a butterfly should not ignore its strength in causality. Or evaluate it quantitatively. These are no longer important, because black people have been emancipated. Justice has been achieved.
Justice is objective, constantly changing, and not absolutely certain#
Justice is not a rule that can be arbitrary. It is not realistic for black people to demand a position above white people. Justice is not an eternal and unchanging rule, just like the rise of the Planet of the Apes, animals will also break free from the role of objects. Justice is not absolute, luck is also part of strength, just like Schrödinger's cat, it is difficult to grasp or it is a law in itself.
Therefore, we can take the opposite of the former, justice is objective, constantly changing, and not absolutely certain.
Justice exists not only in human society#
Justice is not only between people. The pig on the chopping board will never seek justice like humans do, but when preparing to slaughter the pig, it will resist capture with a charge. The pig is the object of humans, but because of the pig's resistance, the world has changed. When catching pigs, people may feel troublesome and give up, or they may hear the sound of crying and feel pity. This influence may not make us give up eating it, but it will definitely give the pig a sense of satisfaction.
The Principle of Justice in Group Existence#
Utilitarianism seems to be a somewhat vulgar term. But one of the underlying logics of this article is utilitarianism.
Taking justice as an example, what effect does justice produced by a group aim to achieve?
Is it to immerse people in the pursuit of justice, or to fight for justice? There is no doubt that justice has value for individuals. Countless heroes have sacrificed themselves in the halo of justice. Especially in the uncertain present, justice is the pillar that keeps us fighting.
However, what is more important is justice at the group level, justice at the appearance level. Justice is a principle of distributing interests within a group, a principle generated by the group, and is subject to the relationship between individuals and the group, that is, the substitutability of individuals.
As long as it is labeled as a group, justice will inevitably appear. When justice disappears, the group ceases to exist. For the group, the best form of its development is the group form. Maybe everyone thinks this is nonsense, and nothing has been said. But in fact, the group form conceals the source of justice. Since it is a group, it naturally wants to maintain the group form and constantly approach the highest form of the group, that is, justice.
What is utilitarianism? What kind of cognition will have what kind of interests, and what kind of interests will have what kind of utility, so utilitarianism is a universal evaluation method. But one cannot say that one side is right and the other side is wrong. If a set of concepts must be used to enrich utilitarianism, it can only be the social contract theory.
Justice is the principle that the group must abide by in order to exist, and this principle becomes justice when it enters the individual.
Utilitarian justice is the principle that the group maintains the group, that is, the principle that the group must abide by for its survival. Because of the relatively stable relationship between individuals and groups, justice is further constructed within the group as the prosperity, efficiency, development, and equal opportunities of the group...
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Summary of Justice#
Definition of Justice#
Therefore, justice is a tendency, a tendency for all things to receive what they deserve. This tendency does not mean a definite result, but changes with the change in the balance of material forces. Justice does not only exist in humans, but in all things that can have an impact on the objective world.
Material Carrier of Justice#
Gaius pointed out in the "Stairway to Legal Studies": "Justice is the constant and perpetual wish to render every one his due."
JUSTICE is the constant and perpetual wish to render every one his due.—— link
The concept of justice in this article is similar to this viewpoint. The most core sentence is "due". And this due is determined by the actual power of the subject.
For example, when a person is treated unfairly, he can fight for his rights through public opinion, the judiciary, and his own strength... As for whether the judiciary and public opinion belong to individual rights?
Do not easily deny the concepts in an idea, and should distinguish the scope of effectiveness of individual rights. A person can directly control his arm to hit someone, but a disabled person cannot; a pilot can control an airplane to bomb, but someone who knows nothing about machinery, even if they have an airplane, cannot; a leader can start a war, but how many people can decide to start a war? The misery of a child is more likely to move the public, but adults are less likely compared to children.
Therefore, everything is objectivism. Therefore, individual rights are a hierarchical and objective concept.
As for how to act and what criteria to judge what is due, it is a matter of relative power, "the law of the jungle". But it also includes many known and unknown factors. This can be discussed further.