The concept of justice evolved from external democratic systems in ancient Athens, where citizen participation and rational leadership created a golden age, to an internal focus on the soul's condition, as developed by Socrates and Plato, who argued that true justice comes from cultivating one's inner self through reason rather than external political structures.
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Moral Gravity – Liberal Arts with Soichi NakamuraAdded:
First, in the time of Herodotus, democracy was still a newly emerging system. However, it was strongly connected with the independent energy of each citizen.
The experience of defeating a great empire in the Greco-Persian Wars further strengthened this idea.
And people came to understand that the voluntary actions of free citizens were themselves a form of justice.
Next, in the age of Pericles, democracy became more fully developed as a system.
It functioned at a high level by being combined with the rational leadership of capable individuals.
Athens entered a golden age both politically and culturally, where stable governance was achieved through the fusion of institutions and personal excellence.
However, during the Peloponnesian War, this balance collapsed.
As described by Thucydides, politics was no longer guided by reason, but by fear, interest, and power.
A more realistic view spread, in which might makes right.
Although the system remained the same, its actual nature changed significantly.
In this context, Socrates sought justice not in external systems or outcomes, but within the individual.
What mattered was not the action itself, but the condition of the soul.
He argued that cultivating one's inner self through reason leads to true justice.
This idea was further developed by Plato, who theorized justice as the harmony of the soul.
Furthermore, Aristotle acknowledged the importance of the inner self, but argued that it alone is not sufficient for society to function.
He emphasized that a stable society can only be achieved when both good institutions and virtuous individuals are present, offering a perspective that connects the two.
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