Striving for Justice for All of Humanity

When trying to define justice it requires one to look at the moral perspective of right and wrong but also the way society views right and wrong. One definition of justice is “judgment involved in the determination of rights and the assignment of rewards and punishments” (wordnetweb.princeton.edu). In trying to understand justice, it is also important to understand human nature as well as how it responds to injustice. People tend to want vengeance or punishment for a crime against them. They believe the law should do that by establishing the rules, determining guilt, and then fixing the appropriate penalty. Problems or conflicts often come when the offender never understands the consequences of his or her actions or the victim disagrees with the punishment. Justice cannot just be about retribution without acknowledging the responsibly of the harm that has been done, so that society or individual can restore themselves and begin to heal.

In the book Rethinking Justice by Richard H. Bell, the author seems to define justice as a testament to our humanity seeing it as encouraging a person’s well-being and virtuous living as well as support community reconciliation (Bell 1,2). It is difficult to verify exactly what Bell is trying to say, since there is a great deal of emphasis on other writers. The overall theme gives the impression that Bell feels the need to promote a more compassionate and merciful type of judgment placed upon individuals and humankind. On the other hand, C.S. Lewis in the book Mere Christianity has the viewpoint of justice as being a virtue described as fairness, which includes honesty, give and take, truthfulness, and keeping promises. Similarly to Bell, it is also not just about the law or the legal system (Le...

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...ed on more than just one’s own opinion or moral values of what is right and wrong. Any justice system cannot account for every situation, but serving and meeting the needs of society through trust, compassion, harmony, and respect seems like a reasonable course of action in order to better humanity. Doing the “right” thing not out of duty or obligation can sometimes be difficult. The outcome of a decision could be rewarded or there could be terrible consequences. The strive for justice can only be found by seeking understanding beyond our own reality.

Works Cited

Bell, Richard H. Rethinking Justice: Restoring Our Humanity. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2007.

Print.

Lewis, C.S. Mere Christianity. New York: HarperCollins , 2001. Print.

"wordnetweb.princeton.edu." 20 Dec. 2010. WordNet. Web. 21 Jan. 2011. .