Untitled

• Justice

  Giving each person what he or she deserves, or in more traditional terms, giving each person his or her due
• Justice and fairness


  Closely related terms that are often today used interchangeably
• Justice


  Usually has been used with reference to the standard of rightness
• Fairness


  Often has been used with regard to an ability to judge without reference to one's feelings or interests
• Fairness


  Has also been used to refer to the ability to make judgements that are not overly general but that are concrete and specific in a particular case
• When people differ over what they believe should be given, when decision have to be made about how benefits and burdens should be distributed among a group of people, questions of justice or fairness inevitably arise
• Most ethicist today hold the view that there would be no point of talking about justice and fairness if it were not for the conflicts interest that are created when goods and services are scarce and people differ over who should get what
• When such conflicts arise in our society, we need principles of justice that we can all accept as reasonable and fair standards for determining what people deserve
• Justice is important to almost everyone
• Justice means different things to different groups
• Justice


  The ethical, philosophical idea that people are to be treated impartially, fairly, properly and reasonably by the law and by arbiters of the law
• Justice


  • Laws are to ensure that no harm befalls another
  • Where harm is alleged, remedial action is taken
  • Both accuser and accused receive morally right consequences merited by their actions
• Justice is the ethical, philosophical idea that people are to be treated impartially, fairly, properly and reasonably by the law and by arbiters of the law, that laws are to ensure that no harm befalls another, and that, where harm is alleged, remedial action is taken-both accuser and accused receive a morally right consequences merited by their actions.
• Fundamental principle of justice

  Equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally
• This principle was first defined by Aristotle more than two thousand years ago
• Contemporary form of the principle


  Individuals should be treated the same, unless they differ in ways that are relevant to the situation in which they are involved
• Equitably


  Treating people fairly based on their merits and abilities
• Consistency


  Handle all essentially similar situations similarly and with consistency
• Treat all people equitably based on their merits and abilities and handle all essentially similar situations similarly and with consistency
• Make all decision on appropriate criteria, without undue favoritism or improper prejudice
• Never blame or punish people for what they did not do
• Appropriately sanction those who violate moral obligations or laws
• Promptly and voluntarily correct personal and institutional mistakes and improperties
• Not take unfair advantage of peoples mistakes or ignorance
• Justice


  A central part of ethics that should be given due consideration in our moral lives
• Evaluating moral decisions


  1. Ask whether our actions treat all persons equally

  2. If not, determine whether the difference in treatment is justified

  3. Are the criteria we are using relevant to the situation at hand
• Justice is not the only principle to consider in making ethical decisions
• Principle of justice


  May need to be overridden in favor of other kinds of moral claims such as rights or society's welfare
• Justice


  An expression of our mutual recognition of each other's basic dignity, and an acknowledgement that if we are to live together in an independent community we must treat each other as equals