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Which is more important? Justice or Mercy.

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family75401343

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I'm a big philosopher, and the biggest problem I have thinking about is whether justice is more important than mercy. I mean like, if someone kills another person he deserves to die, but then I think that I'm lowering myself to his level by killing him, even thought he deserves it. Help me, I'm trying to write a little memoir about my thoughts and I'm having lots of trouble because of this.
 
It's circumstantial. That's why we have degrees of crimes. First degree murder is the ultimate in evil. Planning to steal someones life. Even then, courts sometimes show "mercy".
 
IMO, unwarranted mercy toward a cold-blooded murderer is an insult to his victims.


It also give the murderer an chance to murder again, which is an offense against society.
 
Oddly, the most merciless justice is held against drug violators. There are hippie kids who sold a sheet of acid at a Grateful Dead concert in the 80s that are in prison forever with the murderers. It's called "Mandatory Sentencing".

So, mercy is a bit erratic.

As a discount philosopher, I offer you a 20% professional courtesy discount.
 
family75401343 said:
I'm a big philosopher, and the biggest problem I have thinking about is whether justice is more important than mercy. I mean like, if someone kills another person he deserves to die, but then I think that I'm lowering myself to his level by killing him, even thought he deserves it. Help me, I'm trying to write a little memoir about my thoughts and I'm having lots of trouble because of this.
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Mercy is a good attitude to have in one's personal life, and personal circle of friends and family, but societally, justice is more important to maintaining a civil society.
 
tough question...

every time i think i've made up my mind, I find examples of how I am wrong.

both, I think, are virtuous and necessary to a functioning society...but sometimes they clash.

so i guess i'm going to settle on " it depends on circumstances"
 
I have read many books and read historical ones, but there is always instances where I lean towards one of them.

There was one instance where a respected general who was next in line for the throne of his respected country. He was to send his troops to give support to the monarchs army, but instead allowed the monarch and his army to die so that he could ascend to throne. He was later killed by assassins of a Baron who knew what happened. Here, I'm with killing him, because he allowed hundreds to die for his own selfish reasons.

In another instance a young woman was kidnapped by satanic cult along with another woman. The cult made the women fight to the death, the young woman had to kill the other woman in order to leave, so she did. Well somehow, the other girl's mother found out and hunted the young woman down. The young woman explains everything to the vengeful mother and is allowed to live. In this, it wasn't the woman's fault, she had to. It may have been wrong to kill the other woman but the other could of killed her. So here I'm leaning towards mercy.
 
family75401343 said:
In another instance a young woman was kidnapped by satanic cult along with another woman. The cult made the women fight to the death, the young woman had to kill the other woman in order to leave, so she did. Well somehow, the other girl's mother found out and hunted the young woman down. The young woman explains everything to the vengeful mother and is allowed to live. In this, it wasn't the woman's fault, she had to. It may have been wrong to kill the other woman but the other could of killed her. So here I'm leaning towards mercy.
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That would be an example of what I was referring to as "personal", not societal. If you heavily practice mercy in society, and fail to apply justice, then crime can become a problem, as people expect to be excuses for their bad behaviors, based on the tolerance of society.
 
lizzie said:
That would be an example of what I was referring to as "personal", not societal. If you heavily practice mercy in society, and fail to apply justice, then crime can become a problem, as people expect to be excuses for their bad behaviors, based on the tolerance of society.
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So basically, Justice is used in society in order to punish crimes and ensure domestic order. Whereas mercy is more personal.
 
family75401343 said:
[...] the biggest problem I have thinking about is whether justice is more important than mercy.
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Important to who?

Importance is a subjective evaluation of things, especially when referring to social behavior. Not to mention that justice and mercy are also vague concepts and heavily subjective.
 
family75401343 said:
So basically, Justice is used in society in order to punish crimes and ensure domestic order. Whereas mercy is more personal.
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Not to "punish" crimes. The symbol for justice is a set of scales. Justice is applied to balance the scales, symbolically. True justice requires that someone "pay" for the wrongs they have done. You can call it punishment. I tend to see it as payment to balance the wrong action, and absolve a person of societal guilt.
 
lizzie said:
Mercy is a good attitude to have in one's personal life, and personal circle of friends and family, but societally, justice is more important to maintaining a civil society.
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This exactly.

The individual shall be merciful and forgiving, but society needs justice to maintain order.

As for the example with the murderer, I think it is necessary to give him a trial and punish him (although it's arguable if death penalty is the most just punishment -- but that's a different topic), in order to protect society and deter other potential murderers.

But it's very honorable when the victims can forgive the murderer and be merciful towards him. Not for his sake only, but for the victim's sake too: Feelings of revenge are never constructive and damage the one holding these feelings more than the target of these feelings.
 
family75401343 said:
I'm a big philosopher, and the biggest problem I have thinking about is whether justice is more important than mercy. I mean like, if someone kills another person he deserves to die, but then I think that I'm lowering myself to his level by killing him, even thought he deserves it. Help me, I'm trying to write a little memoir about my thoughts and I'm having lots of trouble because of this.
Click to expand...
There may be no difference, depending on the scale. Further to what Lizzie said, justice can be seen as merciful, where application extends beyond the personal, to account for those who don't lie within our individual sphere of influence. On that level, the only real difference lies in legality. But it's still mercy, as per it's moral foundation.
 
Justice and mercy are not contradictions. I think you are contrasting mercy with retribution, not with justice - and confusing mercy with forgiveness. Justice could be defined as merciful and denying justice done to the offender could be an offense against the offender.
 
If I had to pick one, justice. But Jesus says mercy.
 
Sort of along the lines of Joko, IMHO if justice is carried out without any consideration for mercy when mercy was warranted, then justice may have been denied.
 
family75401343 said:
I'm a big philosopher, and the biggest problem I have thinking about is whether justice is more important than mercy. I mean like, if someone kills another person he deserves to die, but then I think that I'm lowering myself to his level by killing him, even thought he deserves it. Help me, I'm trying to write a little memoir about my thoughts and I'm having lots of trouble because of this.
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You're a big philosopher??? Really? Doesn't seam like it (a little humility doesn't hurt).

Your assuming that someone killing someone else makes him deserving of death ... why? How does that satisfy justice, what's the definition of justice, whats the purpose of it, you can't just assume that its just.
 
Neither is more important, it depends on the circumstance and what the desired outcomes are.
 
family75401343 said:
I'm a big philosopher, and the biggest problem I have thinking about is whether justice is more important than mercy. I mean like, if someone kills another person he deserves to die, but then I think that I'm lowering myself to his level by killing him, even thought he deserves it. Help me, I'm trying to write a little memoir about my thoughts and I'm having lots of trouble because of this.
Click to expand...


Many people and our society have lost sight of the meanings of things.

If I forgive you for a transgression, that's all well and good, but that forgiveness does not remove the need for you to pay the debt that the transgression earned for you.

You can be merciful and forgive the murderer of your child. Forgiveness is something given to an actor, not to the act.

If a person shoots your child in a school room and is both forgiven by you and executed with your approval, there is no contradiction.
 
Goshin said:
IMO, unwarranted mercy toward a cold-blooded murderer is an insult to his victims.


It also give the murderer an chance to murder again, which is an offense against society.
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This is something that seems to escape the consideration of many. Like it or not, we live in a society and those unfit to share the reasonable responsibilities of living within that society need to be removed.
 
family75401343 said:
So basically, Justice is used in society in order to punish crimes and ensure domestic order. Whereas mercy is more personal.
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That seems like a good rule of thumb.
 
Paralogic said:
Important to who?

Importance is a subjective evaluation of things, especially when referring to social behavior. Not to mention that justice and mercy are also vague concepts and heavily subjective.
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When judges try to dispense mercy within their judgements, they are usually going to sacrifice one to give the other.

"I forgive you and sentence you to death by hanging" is not a contradictory statement.
 
lizzie said:
Not to "punish" crimes. The symbol for justice is a set of scales. Justice is applied to balance the scales, symbolically. True justice requires that someone "pay" for the wrongs they have done. You can call it punishment. I tend to see it as payment to balance the wrong action, and absolve a person of societal guilt.
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Justice in a philosophical realm and justice in a politically motivated cess pool like our justice system are not reflective of one another.

Caught three times with 5 grams of grass and you're doing 20 years. Seriously?
 
code1211 said:
Justice in a philosophical realm and justice in a politically motivated cess pool like our justice system are not reflective of one another.

Caught three times with 5 grams of grass and you're doing 20 years. Seriously?
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That definitely seems to be the case. To me, justice implies action which balances the scale, so to speak. Iow, you kill someone, your life is taken. In the case you mention, possession of pot should not carry any legal penalties whatsoever.
 
code1211 said:
"I forgive you and sentence you to death by hanging" is not a contradictory statement.
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It is if your society's moral code says that torture and killing are at the same level of anti-social, aggressive behavior.
 
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