Loving Justice

Abstract

Abstract This chapter completes the argument that justice is loving justice. Earlier it was argued that at the core of virtue is practical wisdom for which emotional excellence is necessary and at the core of emotional excellence lie the Grundstimmungen of lovingness. Since this is a property of all virtues the Grundstimmungen of lovingness are part of practical wisdom in the case of justice. The chapter defends the view that justice as a personal virtue is loving by arguing the following: Conceptions of justice which have no place for love are in effect vices related to justice, what I call ‘vices of justice’. Justice is compatible with emotions such as (properly focused) contempt and anger notwithstanding the existence of views that contempt and anger are incompatible with love and even respect, and are thus incompatible with justice as loving justice. Justice is compatible with virtues of love such as grace which might appear to be unjust.