what does the word justice mean?

Answer 1

Justice, or a condition thereof, is the ideal state of humanity: a morally-correct state of things and persons. Whether this ideal is attainable is an open question. According to most of the many theories of justice, it is overwhelmingly important. For instance, John Rawls claims that "Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought."[1] Some theories argue that in the current state of the world, justice is already supreme. Thomas Nagel, for instance, writes, "We live in a justice world."[2] Most people believe that justice must not be stifled or rejected, and many social and political movements are centred on the premise of global justice. However, the sheer number of different theories of justice suggests that it is not clear exactly what justice is. This puts philosophers in the the difficult position of thinking that justice is vital, but of not being certain how to distinguish justice from injustice in characters, institutions, actions, or the world as a whole. Additionally, it is unclear whether justice consists in all, some, or any of these categories.

This problem of uncertainty about fundamentals has inspired philosophical reflection about justice, as about other topics. What exactly justice is, and what it demands of us, are among the oldest and most contested of questions. For example, the proper distribution of wealth in society — should it be equal? meritocratic? according to status? — has been fiercely debated for at least the last 2,500 years.[3] Philosophers, political theorists, theologians, legal scholars and others have attempted to clarify the source, nature and demands of justice, with widely various results.

It is conceivable to picture justice as a virtue — a property of persons, and only derivatively of their actions and the institutions they create; or as a property of actions or institutions, and only derivatively of the persons who bring them about. The source of justice may be thought to be harmony, divine command, natural law, or human creation, or it may be thought to be subordinate to a more central ethical standard. The demands of justice are pressing in two areas, distribution and retribution. Distributive justice may require equality, giving people what they deserve, maximising benefit to the worst off, protecting whatever comes about in the right way, or maximising total welfare. Retributive justice may require backward-looking retaliation, or forward-looking use of punishment for the sake of its consequences. Ideals of justice must be put into practice by institutions, which raise their own questions of legitimacy, procedure, codification and interpretation.

Answer 2

I figure that the short answer is "To be treated fairly under the laws without bias or ignorance".

Now this is the tough part. Because the US Constitution separates Church and State from "Justice", religion can not have an influence.

The Bible, Koran and many others are just NOT part of it. This applies to abortion, stem cell, transfusions and all the other issues that are forbidden because of religious teachings.

The CONSTITUTION is open to VOTE by EVERYONE, but the various religious documents are cast in concrete. An "Eye for and Eye" is religious doctrine and can be considered FELONY MURDER when applied in certain ways. You see the general population does not get to VOTE and NO politician is going to sponsor an ammendment to make it legal because he/she will anger people that may vote for him/her.

The people that HIDE behind their religious beliefs to avoid the consequenses of the Constitution annoy me. Yes, we have FREEDOM of RELIGION, but NOT APPLICATION of RELIGION that over rides the CONSTITUTION.

Take a look at centuries of history, wars, oppression and look at the foundation of the conflict.

Religious documents are NOT evolving documents; there isn't an ammendment section in the Bible or Koran to reflect changes in THE WORLD! The Methodist's have made some changes based upon VOTE, but who else?

NON-EVOLVING Religious issues are cutting the hamstring of JUSTICE.

This should bring HATE MAIL, but oh well. Contraception is a BIG DEAL for a couple reasons but has THE POPE ever suggested that ALL CATHOLICS VOTE? I would suggest that ANY RELIGION without a VOTE is a DICTATORSHIP and I wonder WHY?

Is the BIBLE or KORAN any different than a medical book written thousands of years ago?

Knowledge and JUSTICE change and grow with technology and MUST ADAPT.

Just THINK!
J

Answer 3

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines justice as being
1 a : the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments b : JUDGE c : the administration of law; especially : the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity
2 a : the quality of being just, impartial, or fair b (1) : the principle or ideal of just dealing or right action (2) : conformity to this principle or ideal : RIGHTEOUSNESS c : the quality of conforming to law
3 : conformity to truth, fact, or reason : CORRECTNESS

Justice encompasses a wide area, which include:
Criminal justice
Distributive justice
Ethics
Global justice
Just war
Justice (economics)
Morality
Retributive justice
Social justice
However, the sheer number of different theories of justice suggests that it is not clear exactly what justice is.

Answer 4

You have asked an open ended question here!

Why? Simple! Because every single person must decide for themselves what they consider just and fair in all matters and situations.

In short, what one person may consider completely just and fair(and thus Justice being done), another person may view as totally unjust and unfair, (thus not being Justice).

There is no absolutely true answer to this question, unless you want to bring God into the equation.

Answer 5

The administration and procedure of law.

Conformity to truth, fact, or sound reason.