Homework Question on The Difference between Moral Justice and Human Law
- Explain and Elaborate upon the following passages by Sophocles.
- In your discussion, include references to Martin Luther King’s Letter and/or Socrates’ defense at his trial. Also review and incorporate some of the concepts and problems we have seen in the section on Kant.
- The main idea is to illustrate the meaning of moral justice and its difference from the human-made law.
- “Many wonders, many terrors, / But none more wonderful than the human race / Or more dangerous” (p.14).
- “And yet you dared to violate these laws?” (p.19).
- “What laws? I never heard it was Zeus / Who made the announcement. / And it wasn’t justice, either. The gods below / Didn’t lay down this law for human use. / And I never thought your announcements / Could give you –a mere human being— / Power to trample the gods’ unfailing, / Unwritten laws” (p.19).
- “But I have no place with human beings, / Living or dead. No city is home to me” (p.37). Please use these books as Sources: Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, 3rd edition. Hackett. Sophocles, Antigone. Hackett.
Homework Answer on The Difference between Moral Justice and Human Law
Questions on the position of moral justice within the law and how the law fulfills moral justice standards are common. The best way to define moral justice is by comparing its meaning and application to that of law. This paper seeks to identify the meaning of both philosophies and distinguish their differences by breaking them down to the definition of morality, justice, and law. Morality is defined as a system of practices, values, and beliefs held by people from a specified setting that determine the extent to which actions are branded as right or wrong.
Justice defines fairness and the quality of being reasonable while the law is a system of rules that govern a country, community or body as formulated by humans. The meaning of moral justice can therefore be deduced from those definitions as the state of defining fairness according to how right or wrong a situation is, regardless of the prevailing system of rules (Coss 15).
The literal meaning of Sophocles’ passage when he states “many, wonders many terrors, but none more wonderful…” is that the human race is blessed in many ways. Humans are intelligent, free-willed, and skilled on any levels. However, their strengths also pose a danger to the human race according to the phrase “…or more dangerous…” (Allison 14). Their free will gives them the ability to make and break their laws from the phrase.