Stoic happiness 5: Knowing how to treat others (Justice)
We should pay attention to how we treat others
Justice is the proper treatment of other people
When we think of justice, we often associate it with laws and courts. Stoic justice is more than that. It is about being just, regardless of whether laws are in place or not.
We are so busy running our lives that we have no time for others. We pay attention to others only when we think they can be useful to us. Stoic justice teaches us to be mindful of how we treat others. We cannot hope to achieve happiness without cultivating the skill of treating others fairly and without understanding what we owe them. The Stoic excellence of justice can be described as
… proper treatment of other people. — Christopher Gill and Brittany Polat, Stoic Ethics
Proper treatment of others means that we are considerate and respectful when dealing with them. We behave decently towards others without being offensive. We mean no harm, and we do no harm.
Justice consists in doing no injury to others; decency in giving them no offence. — Cicero, De Officiis, 2
Justice is an act of social reconciliation. It governs impulses toward others. Justice is knowing how to give everyone their due. We assign or distribute to everyone what is due to them.
Consider the following questions we may ask ourselves from time to time:
No one is watching me. Should I do whatever is most expedient?
This person can do nothing for me in return. Should I still help them?
Should I adhere to the letter of the law, even if I know it will harm an innocent person?
Should I concern myself with the well-being of others?
Even though this doesn’t belong to me, no one will miss it if I take it. Should I?
Why should I concern myself with the well-being of people whom I have never met and never will?
The special skill of justice provides guidelines to act appropriately in situations like these. Knowing what is due to whom and ensuring it is given to the right person is an important Stoic virtue.
From a practical perspective, justice is essential for society and businesses to function effectively, as just transactions foster trust.
For without the sense of justice, no association among men, no social bond, can be safe; and this virtue is even more necessary in the conduct of business. — Cicero, De Officiis, 2
Like other Stoic virtues, justice involves developing several related skills: duty, fair dealing, good-heartedness, gratitude, honesty, and public-spiritedness. Here is more on what justice is and how to practice it.
1. Work toward the common good
Humans are social beings. As Stoics, we are cosmopolitans. We believe in the common good—what is not good for society cannot be good for us. A Stoic does not wish to live in opulence when others around them are starving. Justice that leads to the common good involves fairness, good faith, and honesty. Justice is essential to maintain order in society and ensure moral integrity. As Cicero says (De Officiis), “The good of the people is the highest law.”
Justice involves being patient with people who have wronged us. People often do things unintentionally that are wrong.
Reasoning beings were created for one another’s sake. To be patient is a part of justice—people err without meaning to. — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.3
Working toward the common good, being patient and forgiving towards others, is not only beneficial for others, but it also makes us fearless.
One who lives justly fears nothing, for they are in harmony with everything. — Epictetus, Enchiridion, 30
Justice demands honesty and fair play. Working toward the common good also means remaining fair and honest in all our dealings. Fair play asks us not to treat people who are different, poorer, or less powerful differently than we treat others. Another aspect of justice is being good-hearted. This means treating people fairly, not taking advantage of their vulnerabilities, and refraining from causing harm to others.
2. Stay committed to your duty
You may commonly identify yourself as an individual and take many steps to achieve your goals. But you are much more than an individual. You may also be a father, a son, a spouse, a friend, a community member, or a citizen. You benefit from all these roles.
As a part of this universe, we should consider our family, community, and world.
Duty is knowledge of service. — Stobaeus, 2.5b
It means that we should be aware of how to deal with others blamelessly, be good-hearted, and know what is good for others. To be just, we must understand the nature of things so that our actions are in harmony with nature and those who are the recipients of our actions.
Our duty to society includes public-spiritedness. We should know what is fair in the community we intend to serve.
Public-spiritedness is knowledge of fairness in a community. - Stobaeus, 2.5b
3. Practice gratitude
Being grateful is part of justice. Gratitude is knowing that you have benefited from other people’s actions, as your actions benefit others. Our gratitude should not be confined to the benefits we received directly from others. We should also be grateful for shared benefits. When we are given what many others are given, we feel we don’t have to be grateful because it is not specifically directed to us.
For example, would you be grateful if you received a large bonus at work? If you are like most people, you would be very pleased and therefore very grateful. What if everyone in the company had received the same bonus? You would probably still be pleased, but not quite so much. We devalue what we receive because it is not exclusive to us. For the same reason, we are less grateful for things that are marvels, yet given freely, such as the sun, the moon, the breeze, drinking water, mountains, the ability to walk, talk, and smell. Although these are exquisite and much more valuable than most gifts we have ever received, we often overlook their presence and fail to appreciate them.
A benefit loses its value in our eyes when it is not given to us alone. The more widely a benefit is distributed, the less we value it. We are ungrateful because we dislike sharing the benefits with others. - Seneca, On Benefits 3.2, 7.1, 5.4
True gratitude is being aware of everything given to us, whether it is exclusive to us or shared with all humanity. When we do so, we will realize how much we need to be thankful for. We will start appreciating our lives more and become public-spirited, eager to work toward common goals.
4. Avoid thoughts of revenge
Suppose someone has done something wrong. Should we be vengeful and take revenge? According to Stoics, no. Our only good comes from our character, and so no one can really harm us because they cannot damage our inner strength.
Plotting revenge against a wrongdoer when it serves no purpose damages us without any benefit. Should we punish anyone for anything at all? We can punish people to deter them from repeating their bad behaviour in the future. The only purpose of justice should be deterrence, not punishment.
A punishment should be corrective, not retaliatory. A wise person does not punish for the sake of vengeance, but for the sake of correction. - Seneca, De Clementia 1.6, De Beneficiis 4.5
Takeaways
We should pay attention to how we treat others. Justice is the skill that enables us to give everyone their due. To train yourself to achieve the excellence of justice:
Work toward the common good
Stay committed to your duty
Practice gratitude
Avoid thoughts of revenge
Try this simple exercise
You notice a coworker being excluded from a team lunch because they are new and quiet. How can you practice justice in this situation?
You see a piece of litter on the sidewalk in your neighbourhood. What does your duty to your community call you to do, according to Stoic justice?
You receive a government service (like clean water or public parks) that everyone in your city enjoys. How can you practice gratitude in this situation, and why is it important?
Someone at work takes credit for an idea you shared. How should you respond, according to Stoic justice? Should you seek revenge or act differently?
You have the opportunity to help a stranger who cannot repay you. Should you help them at all, given that you derive no benefit?
Choose one of your answers above and explain how practicing justice in that situation could benefit both you and your community.
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HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF STOICISM— AND GIVE EVERYONE THEIR DUE
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190725
RE 4. Avoid thoughts of revenge, the story of Lycurgus and Alcander came to my mind. It seems to me that a little more of that virtue (justice - forgiveness) would go a long way in the world today.