Aristotles concept of justice Essay Example for Free

Aristotle’s concept of justice Essay In his book The Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle discusses the concept of justice in Book V. Justice is used with its many different connotations. However, in order to explain the statement that justice can only be found in the laws established by the state I would like to point out the last two types of justice and the notion of equity Aristotle refers to in his book. The first is natural justice, true for everyone, and next to that there is conventional justice which can differ in different societies and there is the notion of equity that works in unusual cases. With understanding these three concepts we can reach to the conclusion that according to Aristotle justice can not only be found in the laws established by the state and he is right in claiming such an idea. Anyone who is a virtuous person can also be just. But not everyone who is just is also virtuous. Would you consider someone who kills the murderer of his wife a murderer? Would you put him in the same position as Jack the Ripper? Do you think justice is protected by the law? Is it just to stone adulteresses to death even if it complies with the law? Which law is just and which is not? What are the criteria? Are the laws of the state enough to maintain justice?Such questions can be boosted up to thousands if one starts to think about justice, itsconnotations and the relation between justice and law. The debate is a long-lasting one. In his book The Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle discusses the concept of justice in Book V. Justice is used with its many different connotations. There is particular justice, distributive justice, reciprocal justice, political and social justice, domestic justice, natural and conventional justice. I would like to point out the last two types of justice in order to understand Aristotle’s idea of law and justice relation in a state. According to Aristotle, there is natural justice, true for everyone, and next to that there is conventional justice which can differ in different societies. Natural justice is the kind of justice that can be applied to every human being regardless of nation, race, religion, etc. It has the same validity everywhere and do not depend on acceptance. Aristotle argues that â€Å"the things which are not just by nature but by human enactment are not everywhere the same, since constitutions are not the same, though there is  by one which is everywhere by nature the best† (124). Accordingly, the conventional justice is set by the society and in some cases by the rulers of the society. However, Aristotle suggests that, for the laws established by the state, a law can be just whether it is for the advantage of the law makers or the rulers or the dominant class. In The Nichomachean Ethics, he says that â€Å"the laws†¦on all subjects aim at the common advantage either of all or of the best or of those who hold power†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (108). He adds that every kind of conventional justice is created in one way from the natural justice and it is normal that they may differ from one society to another. For instance it is by the law to drive on a certain side in Turkey and in Britain people drive on the other side of the road. Both laws are created to maintain justice and order. However there are laws which are created by the state such as the law that women have to wear veils which seems to us not just but what is important to Aristotle is not what we think but how that society with that particular law is affected. As long as the law works for the society, regardless of its rightness, it maintains justice. Let’s give an example, at the times of Roman Empire the gladiators fight with each other or with lions, they know that they are going to die at the arena but they do not show any fear, they fight with their honors and they die with an honorable death. Mentioning that laws are created to be functional, to stabilize and control the society, Aristotle talks about the â€Å"equitable justice† in which he stresses that there are cases in which the universal law or justice does not suit to the case in hand. He suggests that laws guide people in the direction of justice but they do not encompass all the cases about justice or injustice. In such conditions he suggests that the judge interferes and corrects â€Å"the law where it is defective owing to its universality† (133). Equity means the correction of the law when it is too abstract for the situation in hand. Aristotle here suggests that the judge or the legislator should find the balance and give the right decision in such situations. Taking these ideas into consideration, according to Aristotle, the laws of  the state are enough to maintain justice for their people only to a certain extent because in some cases the decision making authority is not the law but the jud ge. I think Aristotle is right in making such a claim because of many reasons. First of all, if the conventional laws are the extensions of natural laws and the natural laws are universal and do not change in any situation but still there are circumstances in which the natural law is tooabstract for the case and the judge and the legislator is the one who is to adapt the law to the case, we can not say that either the natural laws or the conventional laws (the laws established by the state) maintains the justice. Furthermore, if there arecases in which the law does not work, we can not say that the laws established by the state maintain the justice at all times unless we see the starting argument as a generalization. However it is also not possible to know the qualities of the judge whether he is biased toward the case that he balances with the law. Accordingly there may be some cases in which justice may not be maintained because of the origin (in Aristotle’s words â€Å"universality†) of the law does not cover the case or because of the judge’s personal qualities. Consequently if the conventional laws are the extensions of natural laws and the natural laws are universal and do not change in any situation but still there are circumstances in which the natural law is too abstract for the case and the judge and the legislator is the one who is to adapt the law to the case, we can not say that either the natural laws or the conventional laws (the laws established by the state) maintains the justice. Aristotle’s concept of justice. (2016, Jul 25).

Postmodern in planning theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Postmodern in planning theory - Essay Example Examining the philosophies of town planning in regards to postmodernism then provide different insight into the approach which is taken to build and reconstruct a town with ideologies of the modern city. When looking at the concept of postmodernism, it can be seen that the identity of culture and society is the driving force of implementing new developments with cities. The philosophies of postmodernism are then defined by forces in society which are creating the changes and the new systems and pieces of architecture which are being set in urban developments. The concept of the postmodern is one which is identified as the celebration of difference and suspicion of the truth (Allmendinger, 25). Many consider it a paradox, specifically because it identifies art, creativity, culture and other facets of life in multidimensional respects. These dimensions are based on creating a definition of completeness to a given arena. This is combined with the idea of creating completeness from the sense of the modern, which is based on post – industrial methodologies of production as well as information as a driving force in society. The changes which society makes in relation to these dimensions then becomes the celebration of difference and the acceptance of diversity within a given area. These driving forces then create an understanding of the conditions of modern life, which is what becomes attributed to the making of the postmodern city (Allmendinger, 28). The concept of postmodernism and the main philosophies then become directly attributed to the building of a city, art, architecture and other applications within society. The main concept is to promote the same modern principles of what it means to be a contemporary city while creating a collage of social and cultural differences which can be celebrated. These are combined with various types of diversity and practices in the city, all which can be developed and

Water pollution Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Water pollution - Research Paper Example Water pollution has turned out to be a global threat that significantly affects the existence of humans,animals and plant.Water pollution is contamination of water ecosystems such as rivers,ground waters,oceans and lakes.It occurs through direct or indirect discharge of pollutants into water bodies without proper treatment. Polluted water is the main causes of human infections and deaths through waterborne diseases such as diarrhea and typhoid fever. This portfolio report seeks to give detailed investigations on leading causes of water pollution and efforts being made to control water pollution. There are various factors that contribute to the problems of water pollution namely, Industrial waste, sewage, acid rain and surface runoff. There are not many techniques of controlling this pollution and currently many researches are being carried out with the aim of finding helpful solution to these problems. The first major causes of water pollution include industrial waste and sewage that are discarded into water bodies. Most of these industrial and sewage waste contains chemicals some of which reacts with water forming toxic substances. These toxic substances are very harmful for both aquatic organisms and human beings when consumed. As the wastes, decay it uses up oxygen and this can affect most of aquatic organisms since they depend on the oxygen in water to survive. Large accumulation of these wastes into the river blocks of waterways other clogs on the vital organs such as fish gills making it impossible for them to breathe thus causing death. Chemicals from these wastes also find their ways in the bodies of a human being when the water is used for irrigation and it contaminate plants and transmit infection to farm employees and consumers (Agarwal, 2005). A solution to this kind of water pollution would be frequent cleaning of affected rivers and carrying out water quality testing to determine the level of oxygen and different chemicals present in water. This c an be done through analyses of water samples in the laboratory for both physical and chemical properties. Industries should also refrain from discharging their waste into rivers. Currently, many industries are using ion exchange technology to remove magnesium and calcium that causes water hardness. Ion exchange can process a wide range of chemicals and provide selective recovery. It consists of columns filled with resin beads that provide a large surface are for anion and cation sites. During the exchange, anionic resins exchange hydroxyl ions for negatively charged chlorides, chromates and sulfates. Cationic resins exchange hydrogen ions (H+) for positively charged ions such as cadmium, nickel, sodium and copper. This technology has helped in removing most toxic chemicals from water thus reducing water pollution (Rao, 2006). Another cause of water pollution is acid rain. It results from burning of fossil fuels having a high level of sulfur. Burning oil and petrol from industries an d heavy commercial vehicles releases carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. After combining with water droplets in the atmosphere they results to formation of weak solutions of nitric and sulfuric acids. When this solution undergoes precipitation they fall as acid rain. As this acidic rain falls into water bodies, it is weakened but as time goes, it increases and eventually lowers the Ph of water. This increases the acidity levels of water bodies and destroys aquatic life. It also increases the acidity levels of soils, which can kill plants because it interferes with soil nutrients. Introduction of low sulfur diesels has helped in reducing the level of carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide released during combustion. Invention of selective catalytic reduction technology which uses ad blue solution has also helped in reducing emissions from heavy vehicles. Ad blue is a solution of urea in water and is mostly used in diesel engines of heavy trucks. The ad blu e solution helps