Justice and Legality

Fridays are for Philosophy. This post was prepared 5/29/15 for publication 6/26/15.

Aristotle, and W. Rhys Roberts. Rhetoric. Mineola, NY: Dover, 2004. Kindle Electronic Edition.
Book I, chapter 13.

Aristotle moves now to classify just and unjust actions. Some can be classified according to “particular law” (Aristotle I.13, B 1373b). This is law as defined or practiced by a community. Other actions are classified under “universal law”, the laws of nature. Aristotle also divides actions by whether they affect the whole community or only some of its members (Aristotle I.13, B 1373b). He further says we must know the meaning of “being wronged” Aristotle I.13, 1374a). This involves “having an injury done to you by someone who intends to do it” (Aristotle I.13, B 1374a). Many disputes involve the understanding of the parties as to intentionality or harm involved in an action. Because guilt involves intentionality Aristotle views this as central to criminal inquiries (Aristotle I.13, B 1374a). He leaves room for mistakes, errors of judgment, and misfortunes.