(Word Count: 468)
Inspiration for my second concept excavation came during discussion of Isocrates and his view on being just, an often complex and rich concept. The ancient Greek educator once said: “The noblest worship is to make yourself as good and as just as you can.” [1] Dikaios (δίκαιος) can be traced back to ancient Greece and is translated as “correct, righteous” or “just”. [2] In addition, dikaios comes from the word diké (δίκη) the greek word for “justice”. To encompass our modern idea of what is just, it can be defined as “consistent with what is morally right; righteous”. [3] When comparing the two, dikaios and the modern just seem very similar, especially in terms of both being related to righteousness.
Use of dikaios as a concept can be traced back to Homer’s The Odyssey: “As he spoke he handed her the cup. Athena thought that he was just [dikaios] and right to have given it to herself first; she accordingly began praying heartily to Poseidon.” [4] This use of the word just fits well with the literal translation and definition of correct.
Inspiration for my second concept excavation came during discussion of Isocrates and his view on being just, an often complex and rich concept. The ancient Greek educator once said: “The noblest worship is to make yourself as good and as just as you can.” [1] Dikaios (δίκαιος) can be traced back to ancient Greece and is translated as “correct, righteous” or “just”. [2] In addition, dikaios comes from the word diké (δίκη) the greek word for “justice”. To encompass our modern idea of what is just, it can be defined as “consistent with what is morally right; righteous”. [3] When comparing the two, dikaios and the modern just seem very similar, especially in terms of both being related to righteousness.
Isocrates also used dikaios for this reason, yet used it in additional forms as well. The word just can be found 16 times in Panathenaicus [5]. This is one of the earlier recordings of it being used as an adverb, implying placement in time.
Modern use of the word has seemingly shifted to focus more on the inclusion of morality in the concept. While just seems to merely add into the overall idea of justice, it is often used in scholarship and religious rhetoric. For example, examine the title of this 1996 book: God's just vengeance: crime, violence, and the rhetoric of salvation by Timothy Gorringe. Another book, published again in 2000 for a third edition: Just and unjust wars: a moral argument with historical illustrations by Michael Walzer. Both of these books use just as a literal way of justifying their claims, mostly through morality. However, when morality is left to be interpreted by the reader, individual viewpoints can differ drastically.
This led me to an investigation of the word justification, which is defined as “a fact or circumstance that shows an action to be reasonable or necessary”. [6] This concept, I found, is much more common in modern usage as it gives a person a reason for acting or believing a particular way. Therefore, if someone is “justified” in performing a certain action, it may be increasingly easier to convince others that this action is indeed morally just. However, this once again brings morality into question, which is anther excavation entirely.
Overall, I feel the use of the word “just” is very much linked to Socrates’ view on rhetoric itself. If used correctly on an ignorant audience it can easily persuade, and perhaps, disillusion
[1] Isocrates, (2009), Retrieved September 29 2009 from www.wisdomquotes.com/003248.html
[2] Dikaios, (2009) Retrieved September 29, 2009 from http://strongsnumbers.com/greek/1342.htm
[3] Just, (2009) Retrieved September 29, 2009 from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/just
[4] The Odyssey, Homer, Translation by Samuel Butler
[5] “just” Perseus Search Results, Retrieved September 30, 2009 from http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/searchresults?page=1&documents=Perseus:text:1999.01.0144:speech=12&q=just
[6] Justification, (2009) Retrieved September 30, 2009 from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/justification
2 comments:
Overall, I really liked your post. It was simple, readably, and substantive. I also wanted to even make another point to justice of how humans were given respect (aido) and justice (dike) as the tools to separate us from the beast. Moreover, including language; however, as far as justice I think it is very interesting how you point out how justice can be bent, interpreted, and influenced in different ways. Moreover, how the term justice is coined where “we” as civilians seek to be just. Even though it may not be a just that is universal and true.
The ability to persuade and perhaps disillusion an audience by justifying their claim with a warrant that is morally based is definitely one of the more interesting aspects of rhetoric to study. I agree that is definitely in line with the views set forth by Plato (through the voice of Socrates) wherein the dialogue of Gorgias, Socrates concludes that rhetoric need only concern itself with that which is "just", and that insofar as justice is intrinsic with rhetoric, that the Sophists were NOT just in demanding payment for their actions. (I feel like every text we read takes a jab at the Sophists but in this case I felt like Socrates "justified" his argument well in stating that if the goal is to ensure that men do the right/correct/morally good (just) thing then who are we to charge for that demand payment, wherein, if that individual is right/correct/morally good, that's something they should already know to do. Justice seems to me something that is fluid in nature, and will no doubt be spun, twisted, and turned to fit the needs of whatever rhetorical climate it finds itself to be in.
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