The More Convincing Theory Of Justice

The More Convincing Theory Of Justice Justice has always been a major subject for debates and exploration among philosophers and for centuries. Plato and Aristotle, the two most important philosophers of Western civilisation are the earliest to investigate different dimensions of justice and develope their own theories respectively. Before a closer examination of their concepts, one must first define the term. Justice is defined as just behaviour or treatment and the quality of being fair and reasonable.  [1]  In the following essay, both the Platonic and Aristotelian theory of justice in the state and individual will be discussed and their possible law will also be analysed to achieve an objective conclusion on whose theory is more convincing. Plato (427 BC-347 BC) is one of the founding figures of Western philosophy and is well-known for his work The Republic, in which he noted the qualities of an ideal state and a just individual by presenting his theory of justice through the words of Socrates. Platos aim of The Republic is to explain that we have to be just in all circumstances, for being just is always in our best interest. Through describing the perfectly functioning state, it is obvious that Plato supports the system of rigid social hierarchy. This is seen through his assertion that cooperation amongst citizens of different classes to serve the common good is the key to achieve a successful state and thus attain social justice. The wants of individuals are therefore fulfilled when each citizen performs their duty for which he or she is best suited, eventually bringing the greatest happiness for all its citizens. Moreover he views justice, wisdom, bravery and moderation as the four essential virtues that enable a cit y to flourish.. Plato opines that wise and rational citizens ought to be the rulers of the city. Whereas those who are strong, and therefore best at physically demanding activities, should make up the auxiliary class with the virtue of courage to defend the city against enemies. Those who are good at natural crafts such as: farming, trading, mining should have the virtue of moderation and exercise their duty to satiate the requirements of the society. Finally, in order to achieve social justice, each citizen has to carry out their own functions in the society and not to attempt in meddling with the work of another. On the other hand, justice of an individual according to Plato is achieved when each part of their soul performs its proper function, with the result that the individual attains psychological harmony.  [2]  This allows a person to be content and complete, without any desire to perform unjust actions. Aristotle (384 BC- 322BC), a student of Plato and one of the the founder of modern Western ideology, holds different views on the subject of justice. According to his famous work The Nicomachean Ethics, there are two distinct forms of justice lawfulness [universal justice] and equality [particular justice]. Aristotle argues that that laws, which include ethical virtue aim either at the common good of the state or those in authority, therefore, it promotes and protect happiness of the political community.  [3]  He further pointed out that in a correct constitution, justice promotes the common advantages of all citizens but in a deviant constitution, it only promotes advantages to oligarch and the wealthy ruling class. Equality, on the other hand, involves three specific forms of justice that affect common advantages of the society distributive, corrective and commutative justice. The first form of justice involves in distributing common assets in a just proportion among people i n accordance with their merits, while the second form amends any previous unjust transaction between citizens to restore fairness. Lastly, commutative justice is found in communities of exchange, where citizens transact in equal terms. In addition, Aristotle places a strong emphasis on the close connection between constitution and justice as he states all constitutions are a form of justice, for [a constitution is] a community, and everything common is established through justice.  [4]  According to his work The Politics, justice is being referred to as the communal virtue, which presents itself in the most perfect form of community, i.e. The political community. Justice in this sense is aimed at concerning the goods of others and is the most perfect form. Having explained both Platos and Aristotles respective theories of justice it is evident that Plato pursues the construction of a Utopian city state with emphasis on inner personal development as a contributing member of society, whereas the latter is more pragmatic and grounded in reality. Plato uses dialogues and point-counterpoints as argumentation to clarify his principle of justice in The Republic, yet, the definition of justice throughout the whole book is ambiguous as Plato never defines the term clearly. Therefore, while he stimulates readers thinking on what is just and unjust, it is Aristotle who elucidates how. Critics argue that Platos theory of justice has nothing to do with the ordinary understanding of the term, which is to act with some regard for the good of others. Rachel Singpurwalla substantiates this, asserting that Plato caanot assuage our worries about justice by giving an account of it that ignores this essential other regarding aspect of justice.  [5]  Moreover, Plato emphasized inner personal relations rather than interpersonal relations as he stated, its [justices] real concern is not with external actions, but with a mans inward self, his true concern and interest (Plato 161) .  [6]  In fact it is the connection with others in the society that defines the ordinary sense of justice. For that reason when comparing Platoà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s concept of justice with a typical understanding of it, the former only provides us a reason to have a just soul, but fails to address the reasons to give the good to others. Furthermore, Platos theory is self-contradictory. The aim of The Republic is to show that justice is always in our best interest. However, individuals with just and rational souls ought to be the Guardians in his ideal functioning society. These philosophers rule the city simply because it is their duty and it is just to do so. They must fully dedicate themselves, sacrificing personal ambitious, family life and personal properties to promote welfare of the state. In this context, it does seem that a just individual sacrifices his/her self-interest for the common good. On the basis of this, Plato failed to explain why people should be just as it is not always in our best interests, contradicting the purpose of writing his book. In Platos ideal state the submission and subordination of personal desire are seen as essential in the construction of a successful society. The interests and rights of the individual citizen are largely overlooked, especially the bottom of the social class and slaves. While in contemporary society, where we are taught that everyone is equal, Platos rigid social hierarchy system and the disregard of social rights may not be accepted by everyone. Platoà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s ideal social system is emblematic of low class mobility and overlooks the dissent that would be caused by keeping the lower classes and slaves in their position- with minimal prospects. Finally, Platos theory of justice is too idealistic and is almost inapplicable to modern society while the idea of the just individual is unattainable to many. If a theory was neither applicative nor achievable, then it is unconvincing for people to follow. In contrast, Aristotle approaches the subject of justice systematically and provides classification of his theory to help understanding his theory, although some argue that different people may have various interpretation of his specific forms of particular justice. For instance, people may disagree on the correct proportion when distributing common assets among social groups. This problem arises not because of Aristotles defective analysis of particular justice, but rather the different value inputs into the system. His theory of justice can also be applied to different classes in the society. The practice constitution and law provides a fair framework of interests and rights for individuals, as well as safeguards citizens basic rights and happiness. As a result, when comparing Platoà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s idealistic concept with Aristotles empirical model of justice, people will have more confidence in the latter, a society which bounded and safeguarded by just laws Essentially, it will be argue that Aristotles theory of justice is more convincing not only because it is applicable to every social class and the contemporary society, but most importantly, it allows citizens to pursue their values and realise their highest nature, providing them a higher degree of satisfaction and achieving a good life. Platos theory is therefore, comparatively philosophical and idealistic, neglecting the general interests and rights of citizens. (1450 words)

The American Civil War :: American History

The American Civil War The incident that began the Civil War involved the demand for the surrender of Fort Sumter, in Charleston, South Carolina. On April 11, 1861, Brigadier General Pierre G. T. Beauregard requested that the fort be surrendered. The Federal commander, Major Robert Anderson, refused. On April 12, 1861, Captain George S. James fired the first shot of the war from a Confederate artillery battery. Artillery exchanges continued through April 13, when terms of capitulation were finally agreed to. The fort was evacuated by steamer on April 14. The following day Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for 75,000 militia to serve for ninety days to put down "combinations too powerful to be suppressed" by the ordinary mechanism of government. The Civil War had begun. (Schroeder, 2005) The proclamation by Lincoln served to polarize the yet uncommitted states into action. Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Tennessee severed their ties with the Union, unwilling to supply troops to fight against their sister Southern states. The border states of Maryland, Missouri, and Kentucky, while providing soldiers to both armies, were kept under Federal control. (Basler, 2005) The numbers did not look good for the newly created Confederacy. Eleven states had left the Union; twenty-two remained. The population of the Confederate states was about nine million, almost one-third of who were slaves. The Union states could count twenty-two million individuals and had a steady stream of immigrants. The South had only two main east-west railroad lines and limited ability to manufacture locomotives or rolling stock. Most of the known deposits of coal, iron ore and copper were in the North, together with about 92% of the country's industrial capacity. The Navy remained loyal to the Union and most of the merchant shipping was Northern-owned. If the South was to achieve victory, it would be against long odds. (Nofi, 2001) Albert Sidney Johnston, who was regarded by many as the South's finest general, arrived to take command of the Western Department in mid-September, 1861. He could hardly have been pleased with the situation he found. He counted only 20,000 troops, most raw and ill-equipped, between the Appalachian Mountains to the east and the Mississippi River. In the Trans-Mississippi Theater, despite a Confederate victory at Wilson's Creek, Missouri on August 10, 1861, Southern Generals Price and McCulloch exhibited a lack of cooperation which only vaguely suggested they were on the same side. (Flachmeier, 2005) To correct these shortcomings, General Johnston immediately appealed for more troops and appointed Major General Earl Van Dorn as the ranking general over both Price and McCulloch as the new year of 1862 rolled in.

Jenna’s Kitchen Essay

Low moral/ low productivity. †¢ Didn’t listen to Judi’s recommendation of not listening. Main Problem: †¢ top managements push to save money by moving from there downtown location to a warehouse, lowered status of employees -made job less prestigious -no longer a better company to work for than their competitors. †¢ Low conceptual skills from management -they didn’t see the big picture to foresee how the move would effect the corporate culture of employees/ morale. Solutions: Top management needs to weigh as well as see value of motivation plus jod satisfaction high productivity and attaining loyalty of employee’s/ low turnover. Tried to solve the low moral with pay increase which leads to less money saved from move plus little change in moral: â€Å"pay increase only provides short term change and not true motivation. † (Introduction into Business pg 284 half way down. ) †¢ What does provide motivation: pay increase according to performance not general increase. Effective ways to motivate and increase morale: increased responsibility, recognition, new more prestigious job title, reoccurring meetings to hear what employees need. †¢ Hear issues †¢ involve employees in creating objectives. †¢ Incentives, gift cards to downtown restaurants, weekly monthly lunches, using flex times to make jobs more appealing. †¢ Cons- incentives will cost company in the short term †¢ more time in team equals less time for working. Managers will have to be trained to give more recognition to work with employee’s †¢ might loose employee’s end up saving money from move. Solutions: †¢ higher level of conceptual skills for top management ie. Learn from mistakes. †¢ Self manage work teams, job enrichment, incentives at the new location. †¢ Implement meetings for top management to reevaluate direction company is headed and to understand the consequences of not listening to regional management and cost cutting. †¢ First line manager training to boost moral/motivation of the workers and increase productivity

French Government essays

French Government essays The modern French government is run very much like the government of the United States. France is a democratic republic that is divided into three branches, the Executive branch, the Legislative branch, and the Judicial branch. The Legislative branch is made up of the Parliament, which like the United States Congress, is divided into two houses. Those being the Senate and the National Assembly. The National Assembly has 577 members and is the more powerful of the two houses, while the Senate has 319 members in this somewhat less influential house. This branch is in charge of passing and repealing laws. The Judicial branch is in charge of the courts, and criminal trials. As in the United States there is the Executive branch, which is headed by the President and Prime Minister. This branch is in charge of carrying out laws and The French government is quite unique, in that during times of a national emergency, such as a war, the President of France has the authority to assume The Local government is divided into twenty-two regions, that are further divided into ninety-five departements, which are again divided into smaller arrondissements which are then divided into communes. There are approximately 36,500 communes in France. The communes are run by mayors appointed by local An interesting fact about the French government, is that we get the expressionsof a left-wing party and a right-wing party from the French Revolution, because at the National Assembly, the radicals would sit on the left, and the ...

graduate1 essays

graduate1 essays The American animation The Simpsons is now in its 10th season as a show in its own right. It was created by Matt Groening as shorts for the Tracy Ullman Show and was bought by the Fox Network, which began screening it as half-hour shows in 1989. Initially its success was restricted to the 9-16 year old age group, and for animation there is nothing remarkable about this. Its success grew quickly and it is now popular in many countries with many different audiences. "In the 1990s we are seeing dramatic transformations in media industries and media cultures. In geographical terms, these transformations may be seen in the shift from national to global media." The Simpsons can be seen as both a remarkable piece of global culture and as a hugely successful piece of global television. (One need only look on an Internet search engine to discover that there are literally millions of Simpsons fan-sites around the world.). The Simpsons themselves are a simple family in a small town in Middle Am erica called Springfield. They are: Homer (loyal but stupid father), Marge (dissatisfied, trapped housewife/mother), Bart (rebellious son), Lisa (unappreciated genius daughter), and Maggie (silent baby). The show also revolves around a number of other of the townsfolk, such as Mr Burns (Homer's miserly boss), Smithers (Burns's loving assistant), Apu (Indian shop owner), Principal Skinner and Moe (owner of the local bar). There are a number of reasons why we cannot simply view The Simpsons as a cartoon like any other. The rules and conventions that it follows are far more those of television or cinema than those of animation. The humour within The Simpsons exists on many different levels ranging from the obvious to the subtle, from the literary to the movie reference, and beyond. But most importantly we must consider the show's ability to make significant social comment, on general issues of culture and society, but more specifically on television, film and ...

Research Articles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research Articles - Essay Example Qualitative evaluation based on ethnographic method at two suburban high schools. The setting for the study is two suburban school (Gance-Cleveland 2004 p.380). Children are persuaded to share the details of the problems in the family in a trusting and supportive environment and by creating a less stigmatizing and more positive environment for the participants. The research was approved by IRB (Institutional review board) and prior permission was obtained from cofacilitators, administrators and students for each interview. The anonymity of the participant was safeguarded in theoretical sampling in focus groups through by using code numbers in the data (Gance-Cleveland 2004 p.382). Patients were reviewed from an academic health center. Inclusion criteria are used with a face to face interview prior to the hospitalization and the measurement of pain through various methods preoperatively and post operatively (Ridge & Goodson 2000 p.71). The sample size constituted various numbers of participants for each study. The size of the sample seems to be adequate considering the age and probability of the hip replacement surgery. The study was conducted in an academic health centre ((Ridge & Goodson 2000 p.72). Five data collection instruments were used. They are Functional Status Index, Arthritis Impact Measurement Scale, Health Assessment Questionnaire, Sickness Impact Profile and Index of Well Being. The data was collected once before the surgery and twice after the surgery (Ridge & Goodson 2000 p.72) The ethical rights of the patients was safeguarded during the research since it is evident that patients were not forced to participate and even participants who dropped during the course of the research were not included in the final analysis ((Ridge & Goodson 2000 p.74). The research was conducted in a written format through the selection of statements in outcome measurement instrument that reduces the changes of bias in the data. The sampling

EUROPEAN LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

EUROPEAN LAW - Essay Example idity and the legal basis of the said directives.2 The manufacturers invoked the principles of subsidiarity, proportionality, right to property and the right to conduct economic activity under Articles 28 and 30 EC and the European Convention Human Rights Protocol, which specify provisions on basic right to property and the right to conduct economic activity freely. The claimants also invoked infraction of Article 253 EC also referred to as the duty to give reasons. Furthermore, the manufacturers of food supplement also challenged Articles 3, 4(1) and 15 (b) of the EC rulings, which state that only food supplements which comply with aforesaid directives may be sold within the European Community and the vitamins and minerals specified under the directives may be utilised. The directive further stated that effective August 1, 2005, products which did not comply with the directives should be prohibited.3 The court has dealt with these issues in the past as for instance in the case of Sw edish Match and Arnold Andre4 and has made its decisions based on the judgments brought forth on that particular case. The EC Directives define ‘food supplements’ as products or items whose purpose is to supplement the daily diet, foodstuffs which contain concentrated nutrients or materials having nutritional or physiological results. These supplements are either marketed in isolation or come in dosage forms, which include capsules, tablets or pills. One of the disputed directives state that only ‘vitamins and minerals’ specified ‘in the forms listed in Annex I and in the forms listed in Annex II maybe used for the manufacture of food supplement5. The court riling and the EC directives likewise invoked treaties signed by the member states of the EC. The Directive provided in Article 15 also affirmed that ‘Member States shall bring into the force of laws’ and other aforesaid stipulations needed to abide by the Directive6. The manufacturers of health foods asked the courts