Views of Justice

1
Views of Justice
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Aristotle

• Render unto each his due
• Retributive fair treatment of crimes (and good
  deeds)
• Distributive fair allocation of goods
• Other types restorative, corrective
• Grounding values
• Fairness, equity
• Proportion
• Grounding source Reason

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Utilitarianism

• The greatest good for the greatest number
• Founder John Stuart Mill (1861)
• Grounding value
• Maximization of happiness/utility
• Greatest social good
• Grounding source
• Human laws, reason

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Biblical foundations

• Jewish scriptures Justice (mishpat, tsedekah)
  used 280 times
• Mishpat comes from root for to judge
• Tsedekah often translated as righteousness
• Two terms go together if it isnt just, it isnt
  right
• Torah (esp. Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy)
• Deut. 1618-20 You shall appoint judges and
  officials throughout your tribes, in all your
  towns that the Lord your God is giving you, and
  they shall render just decisions for the people.
  You must not distort justice you must not show
  partiality and you must not accept bribes, for a
  bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts
  the cause of those who are in the right. Justice,
  and only justice, you shall pursue, so that you
  may live and occupy the land that the Lord your
  God is giving you.
• Prophets
• Concern for marginalized widow, poor, orphan
• Injustice equated with neglect of covenant with
  God
• Keeping ritual is not enough God desires justice
  (Isa. 1 58)

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Justice for Jewish characters

• Ezra Dinns sermon on Gen 19, Sodom and Gomorrah
  (p. 285)
• New Haman, wealthy cities refuse to share,
  inhospitable to stranger
• law used to victimize stranger
• Jewish Hero Rabbi Akiva (337, 343, 346)
• How did he pursue justice?
• Why did Davita identify with him?

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Questions

• Why and how does Davita get criticized at the
  yeshiva? (329)
• How does Potok develop views of gender in
  Judaism?
• How does Channah develop in relation to Davita?
  (314)
• What do you think Davita does after the novel
  ends? What should she do?
• What does her speech mean to her? To you?
• What does the harp mean?