Isn't Morality Simply Taught To Us By Society?

Lewis agrees that right and wrong are taught by parents and teachers, but this doesn’t mean it isn’t a natural law. After all, he says, the multiplication tables are also taught, but that doesn’t mean that mathematics don’t reflect a reality outside of that teaching. Morality is certainly the same. We can see this by what generations rebel against. That which is simply cultural is usually set aside by one generation or another. Yet there is this moral standard which almost every generation uses as a standard to lambast other generation’s principles.

Is Morality Human Instinct?

The argument is that what C.S. Lewis calls the Moral Law, or an innate moral agreement all humans share, is simply a developed instinct for species survival. Lewis admits that this may be the case, but there is also the instinct for self-preservation which often runs against species survival. Why is it that we know the “right” choice is to help the other person in need and not self-preservation? Lewis argues that it is because there is a third, mysterious inner heart that decides which instinct is more moral.

What is Justice?

The basic question of The Republic is this: What is justice?

Justice is taking what is good to do to others and applying it to a community. So if it is wrong to kill a human being, then there is a law that applies that idea to all, equally. When law allows some to kill human beings while others cannot, that is injustice.

Ultimately, the basic principle of ethics, and thus the foundation of justice is, “Do to others as you would have done to yourself.” This does not mean that we should treat each other exactly with what we would prefer, e.g. I like chocolate, thus everyone should have chocolate. Rather, it is understanding human nature that we all share, and granting people to do the good that we all share. We all have life, and a drive for survival. Thus continued physical existence is something we all share. Thus, we should recognize that life is a right that we all share and so should be supported by the community. When the community accepts the responsibility to protect the lives of all human beings equally, that is justice in that area of human nature.

God supports this idea by giving us a command not to murder, and by extending that command in Jesus to love our enemies. Thus, life is to be protected in all its forms, even to those who do us harm. Life is a basic principle that is to be granted to all humanity. This is the wisdom of God and if we see this accomplished in a community then God’s justice is realized.

“Might makes right” can also be summarized with another cliché: “The end justifies the means.” “There is no moral absolute. Morality is just a set of rules or ideals, something abstract in human minds, it isn’t real. This moral subjectivism or moral relativism was quite rare among the ancients, except among the Greek sophists, but it is far from rare among the intellectuals in our culture. In ancient culture, the teachers were more moralistic than the students—it is just the opposite in our culture.”

Might Makes Right, Part 3

However, there is an argument that says that God is the source of justice not by means of might. This is that God is the wisest in the universe, due to his great knowledge and the application of that knowledge in creation. In this argument, God is the source of justice because He knows what justice is and thus applies it to creation. In the previous arguments, it would be pointless for humans to determine the essence of justice, for justice is held in the decision of God, which cannot be sought by human beings—all we can do is follow His commands, whatever they may be. But if justice is held by God simply because He is wise, then that justice can be sought by humans and imitated by them. We can look to God as an example, we can understand and apply the principles of justice in reality.

And these two approaches to justice is one of the major differences between the law of Moses and Jesus. The law of Moses gives laws, rules, commands, which one either obeys or disobeys. Justice is ultimately a mystery, and the closest a human can get to justice is to obey God. But Jesus gives us principles instead of laws. Jesus does not say, “Put a rail around your roof”, but rather, “love your neighbor.” Jesus does not say, “Place the entrails of the animal upon the altar”, but rather “Love the Lord your God with all your heart.” Jesus does not say, “Keep your vows to the Lord,” but rather, “Let your yes be yes and your no, no.” Jesus speaks principles and we are to apply those principles in our circumstance.

Jesus’ approach to justice is different from the law, because Jesus is not looking for clones, but lovers. Everyone is not supposed to worship the same way, or to do justice exactly the same way, but rather to be led by the Spirit, and the Spirit leads different people in different ways. This means that justice might look differently in different places, but ultimately comes from the same source of wisdom. God can lead both a modern city and a small tribe by the same principles, and each context will look different, but still be unified in the wisdom of God.

Reversal Theory of the Atonement

Just in case you thought I was totally out of my mind when I discussed the atonement, here's a paper which presents a pretty close point of view:

Reversal Theory of the Atonement

Might Makes Right, Part 2

This point of view, that might makes right, is shared by many who think that they don’t hold to this point of view. It is held by those who claim that democracy is the best kind of government and that the world would be better if the whole world was made up of democracies (by which they usually mean a democratic republic, not a true democracy). They claim that if people were given power, that they could create their own laws and governance, that they could establish their own kind of justice for themselves. But this means that justice is different in each place, and looks like whatever those with power—the people—make it. Also, democracy of any form is actually granting those of wealth, popularity and majority the upper hand, while the disenfranchised or the minority do not allow their concept of justice to be realized. For instance, the homeless in the United States do not get their idea of justice realized, nor do women in a democratic Muslim country. Thus, democracy is ultimately might makes right, and while the power isn’t just one person, certainly those who can sway majority opinion are those with the vision for “justice”.

Another group that agrees with Thrasymachus are most religious ideas of justice. Justice, the religious philosopher claims, is held by God because He is God and no one can argue with God. God is, by definition, just, therefore God is justice. But this is basically to say that God is the most powerful being and thus justice is held by him. To be honest, this is pretty much the argument made by the book of Job. Job argues with God about justice, and God answers him by contrasting His power with Job’s. “Where were you when each star was made by my hand?” This is basically the argument that God is the most powerful and so He determines the rules. Might makes right.

A similar religious argument is that God is justice because He created the world. Because God is the Maker of all things, then He can determine what justice is, by right of creation. This is an argument of origin and possession. God created, therefore He owns all things. And the one who owns can determine the rules. This also is a “might makes right” argument.

Might Makes Right, Part 1

Italicized quotes are by Peter Kreeft in his lecture series, "What Would Socrates Do?"

In Plato's book The Republic, Socrates is looking for the essence of justice. This is not just a definition of the word, but what justice truly is, what it looks like, everywhere.

“Cephalus says, ‘Justice is paying your debts and telling the truth.’ But that definition doesn’t work in all cases because it doesn’t make sense to return a weapon to a maniac. Polymarkus says that justice is giving people what they deserve. He identifies this with ‘helping friends and harming enemies.’ But Socrates reminds him that we make mistakes and sometimes we think of our enemies as our friends and our friends as our enemies. So Polemarchus improves the definition to: ‘helping true friends and harming true enemies.’ Doing good to the good guys and bad to the bad guys. Socrates critiques this definition by saying something quite amazing. That justice should do good even to your enemies, to the bad guys! Because justice is a virtue, a virtue is a good, and good can only do good to everyone without exception. Socrates holds to the same principle as Jesus, ‘Do good to those who hate you, love your enemies.’ At this point Thrasymachus barges in to interrupt in order to bully Socrates. Thrasymachus claims that justice is whatever the strong man wants. Might makes right. Justice is only a mask painted on the face of power.”

Thrasymachus’ point of view is not so much a definition of justice as a denial of it. To say that justice changes with each powerful ruler is to say that justice resides in the heart of the powerful, and thus cannot be determined by reason or from a single source. That there is no essence of justice.