Our Justice

The wonder of human justice.

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Justice is an entirely human notion.

There is no such thing as justice in nature. In fact nature thrives on injustice. It requires it.

Evolution, which is the survival of the fittest, could not take place in a just world. We would never have evolved under such a system.

We are the ones who invented justice and we take it for granted now, but what is it exactly?

In its most basic form, justice represents our strongest animal instinct -- that of self preservation. We demand it because we want to be protected from others, more powerful than ourselves.

In essence, justice means equality. That's why she is always shown blindfolded.

Equality however, keeps changing over time.

Mayans, for example, gave the death penalty to commoners who dared wear cotton clothes.

Indians had the untouchables, a large section of their population they consider dirty and would not even touch.

Slavery was legal till recently in our history.

Now all these things and many more are thankfully gone. We still have a long way to go, but we are now more equal to each other than ever before.

This equality seeps into every part of our society.

In 416 BC, for example, right before the Athenians slaughtered all the people of the island of Milos for wanting to remain neutral in the Peloponnesian wars, they first asked them to surrender.

They said, look, we know this seems unfair to you, but we are more powerful than you are and as we all know, justice is only ever applied between equals. Otherwise, the powerful exact what they can, and the weak grant what they must. Sorry about this, but we did not invent this system. It has always existed and always will, and we know that if you were in our place you would do the same.

That logic, true as it may be, is slowly changing. The others will not stand for it. We are becoming more equal, even as nations.

War will soon be obsolete because people, being more equal to their leaders, will have more power and will just not stand for it any longer. The days of Alexanders, Napoleons, and Hitlers are thankfully over.

Some people believe that justice is brought about by Gods. That is not true however. The notion of justice has always existed, since man began to think.

Today's law in most western countries, for example, is based on Roman law, which was created before Christianity, when the Gods were petty, cruel and unjust, and people were at the mercy of their whims.

Even our Gods are changing. Ancient Gods demanded sacrifices, sometimes even human. Today's Gods are much kinder, more loving.

Examining justice, throughout history, we see one thing holds true : The more advanced we become, the more equal we become, the more justice we have.

And that can mean only one thing.
That in the future there will be more justice, more equality.
A better chance for happiness.

No one will give it to us -- no Gods, no external saviors - we will make it ourselves.

We will, ourselves, construct our paradise.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• justice
• war
• hapiness
• paradise

[06301113]

Total equality is a bit impossible if i must say...unless it will come a time when everybody will be programmed, using technology ,to act in a certain manner which will promote absolute equality.

[MyWorldView]

Maybe.. Like the speed of light. You can't ever reach it. Only get close to it. But technology can, in the future, wipe out the need for money, install justice, make everyone healthy, intelligent and good looking, maybe even give us new worlds to live in. That's good enough for me :)

[greefermike]

I dissagree, we are not equal, thats comunism. even then there is no equals

"all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others"

And with that in mind, Equallity is impossible, because people still are put into power, people still end up more fortunate.

Let me clarify, i have been on and off homeless for six years, and i finally worked my way into university, i now face problems with bank accounts and finance because of my background of being unfortunate,

Equallity is impossible

[MyWorldView]

I am taking a long-time view here. Life is certainly still very unfair and unequal, but think back 100, 200, 2000 years (not yesterday).

At that time if you had put up any resistance you might have been crucified or become a slave, caught by the Romans and taken to the Colosseum to fight for your life so that others could enjoy an afternoon of fun.

Or even back to the 1st World War.

We're going the right way..

[grobo11]

gumbi. we're not messed up. We (unlike theists and atheist's) have the ability to beleive what we wan't to beleive. To philosiphise our lives on the values we make. Unlike theists we won't condem you because your beleifs differ from ours. However unlike atheists we won't antagonize you or make fun of your beleifs. Atheism and Theism have boundries. Angnostics do not. Our mind is free to explore. We're not on a mission to erradicate religion nor do we wan't to convert people to our beleifs.

[christopherse2]

I have to disagree with the animal kingdom not seeking justice. The very fact that animals will protect each other is a sure sign that they seek justice. Plain and simple, you can not argue with that. Equality will never exist, therefore the demand for justice will always exist.

[caleron0]

good video, but i strongly believe that (2:40) the days of Alexander's and Napoleon's and Hitler's are not over yet. Just look at Iran and north Korea. Even in Europe / USA new leaders of that type are gonna be born

[PoFFizdaMan]

god, i hope this is true...

[rickrocker]

Very thoughtful and optimistic. We will construct our paradise or, perhaps, our demise?

[210Lotus]

@grobo11 For theism, an agnostic theist believes the proposition that at least one deity exists is true, but per agnosticism, believes that the existence of deities is unknown or inherently unknowable. The agnostic theist may also or alternatively be agnostic regarding the properties of the god(s) they believe in. Since agnosticism does not forbid belief in a deity, it is compatible with most theistic positions.

[210Lotus]

@grobo11 ur right on certain aspects. but wut about for those who are agnostic theists such as myself? coz i'm both. yes both. please read about agnostic and theist separately then pair them together. ;) i don't condemn anyone regardless of religion or belief. however, i still concur with wut u have said our minds are free to explore but do not have to be agnostic to feel this way.

[techn0teen]

Justice is related to self preservation in some degree. But then again, Justice must be balanced. Natural justice is a balance of give and take (the scales of Libra). For example, people who eat a lot tend to die earlier while people limiting calories die older. It is all very interesting. That is why I love being agnostic.

[VILeonidasV]

Very Intelligent, very reasonible. Wanna have a beer? :D

[ExxonPirate]

@kobidobidog What is a Zoosexual, and a "gay furry", or at least what is a "furry" since you separated the two later in your comment.

I'm not trying to be sarcastic or start anything. I just honestly have no idea what those are.