Homework answers / question archive / What role should motivation play in judging altruism? Can helping others be tainted by the wrong motives? After observing in countless documentaries, television shows, editorial commentaries, obituaries, lyrics, presidential speeches, formal dinners, ceremonies, and tabloids the rabid use of the word "justice," I decided to clear some common misconceptions on the nature and meaning of "justice

What role should motivation play in judging altruism? Can helping others be tainted by the wrong motives? After observing in countless documentaries, television shows, editorial commentaries, obituaries, lyrics, presidential speeches, formal dinners, ceremonies, and tabloids the rabid use of the word "justice," I decided to clear some common misconceptions on the nature and meaning of "justice

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What role should motivation play in judging altruism? Can helping others be tainted by the wrong motives?

After observing in countless documentaries, television shows, editorial commentaries, obituaries, lyrics, presidential speeches, formal dinners, ceremonies, and tabloids the rabid use of the word "justice," I decided to clear some common misconceptions on the nature and meaning of "justice." Justice is not retribution. At best, retribution is vigilantism. The wild urges of our instinct and emotion, however, cannot qualify as justice. We have seen, particularly in the form of lynch mobs, that vigilantism is hardly justice and is in fact many times injustice. Attempts to model justice on the idea of retribution are outdated and outmoded. While the "scales of justice" typically reflect the image of justice, the concept of "equal retribution" is an anachronism that dates from the times of Hammurabi and Moses. Few would argue that a woman who is fatally attacked by an alligator is rendered justice when the alligator is put to sleep. Even fewer would suggest that a rapist receiving his own displeasure is justice. To return an injustice "in kind" is usually impossible; in many cases, the context of the injustice as evil as the deed itself. In fact, one of the traditional arguments against capital punishment has been that the pain inflicted upon the criminal can never equal the suffering that the victim (and his/her family) endured by the sudden and malicious nature of the crime. Thus, if even capital punishment is not a reliably just punishment for a heinous crime, the "scales of justice" could never be balanced, and so retribution could not be the sole component of justice. Justice is not fairness. Justice is always fair but what is fair cannot always be just. Consider the destitute man who suffers from mental illness and poverty. We say that social justice can only occur through helping this poverty-stricken man, a fair action indeed. At the same time, a passer-by who does not even acknowledge the itinerant's existence acts fairly; after all, perhaps that passer-by helps no man but himself. However, nobody would call the passer-by a just man on the basis of his "fair" actions. Fairness implies only equality of treatment, but justice tends to encompass what that treatment will be. A line, therefore, must be drawn between what is fair and what is actually just.

1) " Few would argue that a woman who is fatally attacked by an alligator is rendered justice when the alligator is put to sleep."
The purpose of introducing the alligator is to?
A) Present a character that most people are personally familiar with
B) Provide an example for a previously mentioned argument
C) Contrast the aforementioned example with an alternative point of view
D) Include a common symbol of justice
E) Create a tense and abrasive mood

2) " In fact, one of the traditional arguments against capital punishment has been that the pain inflicted upon the criminal can never equal the suffering that the victim (and his/her family) endured by the sudden and malicious nature of the crime."
The word "endured" most nearly means?
A) Survived
B) Celebrated
C) Incurred
D) Admonished
E) Continued

3) Why is retribution not the sole component of justice?
A) The pain of defeat can never be compromised
B) Punishment cannot suffice to mend some transgressions
C) Some people are simply evil
D) Most punishments are not strong enough to deter people from future crimes
E) It is difficult to assess what the correct punishment is for a crime

4) " Justice is not fairness. Justice is always fair but what is fair cannot always be just. Consider the destitute man who suffers from mental illness and poverty."
The author would most likely agree that providing aid to the poor
A) Is a foolish endeavor
B) Results in a greater number of poor people
C) Is an unfair action
D) Cannot mend society's ills
E) Represents a form of social justice

5) " We say that social justice can only occur through helping this poverty-stricken man, a fair action indeed."
"Stricken" most nearly means:
A) Buffeted
B) Hit
C) Surprised
D) Inflicted
E) Paraded

6) Why does the author not consider the passer-by a "just" man?
A) He is unfair to the destitute man
B) He has malicious intent
C) He will not provide equal treatment to the man
D) He cannot recognize the right of the destitute to beg
E) He does not desire to help the man

7) What is the distinction between fairness and justice, according to the author?
A) Fairness is equal compense, while justice is not
B) Fairness is just, and justice is fair
C) Fairness is a human endeavor and justice is a metaphysical quest
D) Fairness involves achievable goals while justice does not
E) Fairness regards parity while justice involves a remedy

8) Which of the following situations would the author find absolutely just?
A) A boy finds ten dollars on the ground and returns it to the owner
B) A church donates old clothes to the needy
C) A patron of a bar pays back his tab(bill)
D) A soccer player is ejected after playing too roughly
E) A mother nurses her child