Philosophy and Justice: Eastern and Western Perspectives

Published: Aug. 17, 2010, 11 p.m.

Over 2000 years ago Plato defined Justice as "harmony of the soul", shortly thereafter, Plato's student, Aristotle claims that justice is imperfect and that "equity", a corrective of justice is higher than justice. In the 20th century, the great political philosopher John Rawls noted the connection between justice and fairness. One could argue, however, that despite the numerous theories of justice, we nonetheless continue to deal with countless INjustices. Why is this? Is theorizing about justice fruitless? Does the effortful striving towards justice do more harm than good? This show will address these questions and will incorporate some of the insights of the Taoist philosophers Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu. Put bluntly, in this show, we continue to discuss the relationships amongst 1)philosophy, 2)justice, and 3)activity.