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Permalink Reply by Nelson on February 15, 2012 at 2:57pm

As with so many things, it depends on how you understand the definition of your terms.

If we understand justice to mean appropriate judgement under the circumstances without feeling for persons involved (the image of Lady Justice blindfolded comes to mind), then mercy– doing less than what is appropriate under the circumstances out of feeling for the persons involved– IS in contradiction with justice.

But if we understand appropriate judgement under the circumstances to be compatible with feeling for persons involved, then some may argue that, far from being in contradiction, justice may not exist without mercy. 

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Permalink Reply by Robert Karp on February 15, 2012 at 4:18pm

Should not justice be blind in order to be truly "just" as the etymology suggests?  Does not a society have to use this objective reasoning when deciding justice? 

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