Aquinas’ Virtue of Justice

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Saint Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologiae understands that the virtue of justice is to be founded upon the notion of “jus” or right and that justice directs man to his relations with others according to a kind of equality, or rightness. “Jus” is what the relation of rightness is meant to be and it is a right due to other men, which specifies the virtue (Thomas Aquinas; Summa Theologiae). By means of jus, an example would be that humans are related to each other as equals because it derives from common human behavior. Humans relate best when they have more behaviors in common such as culture, attitude, emotions, values, ethics, and authority. Aquinas is saying that humans relate best when they have equal behaviors, along with some of the same kinds of jus, or rightness (Aquinas; ST).
Plato came across the problem that he strove to resolve, which was injustice, and he eventually resolved the matter which was justice. Plato’s political philosophy is based upon his principles that an individual is much more important than society and it is necessary to understand the nature of the in...

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