The justice definition given by Aristotle in “Nicomachean Ethics” is simple, but accurate and profound. A person behaves in accordance to justice only if he has “an habitual disposition to render to each person his due.” John Vespasian explains that the definition demands giving consistently and regularly to each person his due, not only occasionally, not only from time to time. Aristotle’s predecessors such as Socrates (469-399 BC) had not been able to come up with such a complete definition. Despite his focus on self-examination and introspection, Socrates had failed to give a precise meaning to the concept of justice. He had talked about the need of “knowing oneself” in order to “lead an examined life” as prerequisites to happiness, but in no way had he provided practical advice about justice. Instead of concentrating on essential features (as Aristotle had done), Socrates had focused on the method. By means of debates, he had tried to identify the nature of justice and ethics, but with little success. Socrates had theorised that ignorance is the main cause of injustice, but without giving any proof for his statement. In fact Socrates had just made up the link between ignorance and lack of justice. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/impact-of-aristotles-theory-of-justice/

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