Ethics of Justice
ETHICS Of JUSTICE
Ethics of justice, also known as morality of justice, is the term used by Carol Gilligan in In a Different Voice to describe the ethics and moral reasoning common to men and preferred[clarification needed] by Kohlberg's stages of moral development. The ethics of justice deals with moral choices through a measure of rights of the people involved and chooses the solution that seems to damage the least number of people. Rooted in a respect for the legal system[citation needed], it applies in the Western democracy ideas like social contract theory to everyday moral decisions.
Three Theories of Justice
I will discuss three theories of justice: Mill’s Utilitarianism, Rawls’s Justice as Fairness, and Nozick’s libertarianism. Much of my understanding of theories of justice comes from Business Ethics (Third Edition) by Willian H. Shaw. I will expand my discussion of justice by considering objections to each of these theories, but I do not necessarily endorse any of the objections and there could be good counterarguments against them.
What is justice?
Justice can be used to mean any number of things, like the importance of having rights, fairness, and equality (87-88). People will think it’s unjust to have their rights violated (like being thrown in prison without being found guilty in a court of law); or being unfairly harmed by someone unwilling to pay compensation for the harm done; or being unfairly treated as an inferior (unequal) who isn’t hired for a job despite being the most qualified person for the job. Theories of justice are not necessarily “moral” theories because “justice” is a bit more specific and could even be separate from morality entirely.
