Let’s Talk Stoicism, Virtue of Justice

Hey y’all! This blog post is the second of the four part series about the virtues of Stoicism. If you haven’t already, you should check out my blog post giving an overview of Stoicism and the post about wisdom. Read this article when you’re finished. If you’re already one step ahead of me, which you probably are, then pull up a chair and let’s talk justice.

Let’s dive right in, shall we?

So in my last post, I began by describing the concept of the three areas of self: will, action, and perception. Wisdom ties in with will, and the topic of discussion for today, justice, is based on action. Which makes sense, if you think about it. Justice has to do with our treatment of other people, which makes it entirely dependent on our actions towards others.

“But David, what IS Justice?”

That question is SURPRISINGLY difficult to answer. Here’s a dictionary definition, but I don’t feel that answers the question. If justice is doing what is just, than we really need to define what is just first. But the problem is that the Stoics have a different understanding of justice than we do in modern society.

“What do you mean, David?”

If you’re anything like me, then you probably think about justice from a legal perspective. Even then, usually only in a negative connotation. People use phrases like “justice has been served” or “they were brought to justice” with reference to criminals.

But if something is a virtue, then that means it’s a positive trait. But based on the understanding of justice that most of us have, that quality would be based around punishment. Which is not how the Stoics thought about it at all.

“So what does justice really mean?”

The idea of justice is akin to “morality” or “righteousness”, based on Plato’s definition in the Republic. Diogenes Laertius described it as being in harmony with the law and tending to bring men together. If you’re like me, you’re probably thinking “……….what does that even mean?” Trust me, I was just as lost, and it took a LONG time to even remotely understand.

As you can see, there are two parts of this definition: harmony with law and bringing men together. We need to dive into each of these ideas more deeply to gain a deeper understanding of what justice is.

What does it mean to be in the harmony with the law?

I think the important thing is to discuss what type of law we’re referring to here. When you here the word “law”, what do you usually think about? First thing that comes to me is a speed limit on a road. This is a legal law, one instituted in our societies for safety purposes (and one that myself and other ATLiens break on the daily).

You can have justice (or retribution) for breaking a legal law, but justice also refers to natural law. Natural law has more so to do with morality, the idea that there are more statutes that are inalienable and absolute. The Ten Commandments are a good example, if you’re familiar with the Bible/Torah at all. They were written down, but if you see how God reacted to violations of the laws before hand, it shows that the rules existed long before they were committed to writing.

I feel like it’s important to make the distinction, because while there are some legal laws that were made because of a moral issue, i.e. don’t kill people, not every law is in harmony with natural law. At one point it was legal to own slaves in the US. Or restrict people’s right to vote based on race or gender. So the distinction is important, because not every piece of legislature is moral, and therefore not every law is just.

Why is tending to bring men together important?

Justice is really about being in harmony with the law, as well as with each other. Humans are social creatures, and interactions with each other are inevitable. For the self as well as for the common good, it is important to be just to each other.

“David, we haven’t even defined being just yet!”

Good point! And I really don’t know how to define it. I’ve done so much research on justice and being just in the past week, and I now realize I don’t understand it as much as I thought. Being just, to me, means being kind and fair. My first Scout Master in the Boy Scouts once said to me “Every point of the Scout Law is important. But if you are friendly, courteous, and kind, then everything else will fall into place.”

I feel like that most people have their own definition of justice, which makes sense, since as a virtue it’s definitely the most ambiguous. But interestingly enough, that makes the learning, practice, and training tailored to the individual. The ethics that you learn fundamentally shape the way you view the world. The actions that you practice come straight from what you believe justice to be. And then you refine what justice means, the ethics that shape your view, and your actions, in an endless cycle. Because all of that is subject to change.

Where does that leave us?

It leaves us with ALOT of questions. Most likely more than we started with. But for this post, I want to hear back from you guys. What does justice mean to you? How would you go about defining it? I hope that we can find that answer together.

Thank you for taking the time to talk justice with me. I want to hear your thoughts on justice, so leave a comment! If you have any other questions, hit me up using the Contact Me page. And make sure to take some time to talk humans with someone this week. Seeya later!