Philosophy of Justice - Research Paper Example

Socrates was a mysterious personality, attributed as one of the originator of Western philosophy. He was a firm believer that justice is good, this could be attained through self-knowledge. It is imperative to understand what is good i.e. justice and what is injustice or evil. According to Socrates, natural needs are good. Good is always desired. The desire or the requirement to be satisfied varies with a person's nature called the daimon. It is exclusive to every person. Thus, in this scenario, it is the individual's knowledge that plays a vital role in deciding the good and taking the decision.

If knowledge is enabling a person to apply for good, then knowledge is also good. It is knowledge that empowers a person to discriminate between good and evil. A wrong action is a direct implication of ignorance. Socrates defined four virtues viz. bravery, self-control, justice, faithfulness (Socrates: the Search of Justice). According to Socrates, retribution for the offense is the treatment for wickedness and justice leads to that penalty. A man who has done no erroneous is better-off than a man who has received retribution for his proceedings.

Socrates pronounced that the just life is more significant than outside belongings. If one scale evil, first is the man who does incorrect and finds chance of escaping where as the man who does wrong comes second (Socrates: the Search of Justice). On the contrary Adolf Hitler was a firm believer of Bible. According to Hitler, "As a Christian I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated, but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice". He said, "I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator" (Brainy Quotes).

These quotes imply Hitler's temperament towards justice. He defensible his battle for the people of Germany and in opposition to Jews by means of Godly and Biblical interpretations. In reality, one of his most enlightening declarations further enunciate this: "Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord." Apart from Socrates, who believed that knowledge plays an imperative role in judging and providing justice; Adolf Hitler was of the opinion that God and His preaching aids in interpreting and defining justice.

Although, Hitler was always misapprehended as he never practiced religion in church (Hitler's religious beliefs and fanaticism). In today's scenario this holds true to some extent. Knowledge is powerful in making a person judgmental and to appreciate the truth and honest opinion. Beliefs related to religion and its preaching find little relevance in the epoch of technology. Justice is what is being followed as per the guidelines set by the organizations of the nations, any violation of these set norms is considered to be injustice.

Knowledge and awareness about self and surroundings is vital in taking decisions. To some extent the saying "power corrupts" holds true as it is capable of changing the thinking of a common man about the justice in the present scenario. The dictatorship portrayed by Saddam Hussein is known worldwide. He was known for creating horror and terror of his personality against his own crew. He was known to be the greatest tyrants. He was a brutal killer and neither knowledge nor the