The Justice "Muscle Group"
(originally published in the Handbook of Human Formation, by Cameron Thompson)
As I said in an earlier post, each of the Four Primary Virtues (aka Cardinal Virtues) is more like a muscle group, composed of a number of more specific Subsidiary Virtues. Remember, virtues are not some abstract principle like values. Virtues are real habits of measurable skillfulness that become deep traits.
Muscle Group 2: Justice - Relationships with Others
Justice is that strength of character that is the habit of healthy and respectful relationships with others, marked by honesty and integrity. Justice is the virtue that allows you to relate and interact well with other persons, society as a whole, and God.
The Specific “Muscles”
The Subsidiary Virtues of Justice are as follows:
Religion: This is the habit of cultivating a healthy and reverent relationship with God and all things sacred. This means offering to God what is due to Him as creator of all things, and upright action and attitude toward matters of worship, ritual, and prayer. It also is the strength of being devoted to God in a relationship of loyalty. This virtue is the opposite of the vices of superstition, idolatry, sacrilege, perjury, and false worship. It is important to note that the virtue of Religion is a natural virtue (i.e. rooted in our own human nature), and not to be confused with the supernatural or theological virtue of faith. The realm of the theological virtues, and of spirituality in general, depends upon this natural foundation in the natural moral virtue of Religion. Without this natural virtue, one tends toward a superstitious and psychologically unhealthy approach to spirituality.
Loyalty: This is the habit of reverence, respect, and honor given to your family, ancestors, and relatives. It also includes cultivating a healthy honor and affection for your homeland and people. It is opposed to the vices of nationalism/partisanship and betrayal, as well as the vice of enmeshment in family relationships.
Respect/Mature Obedience: This is the habit of reverence, respect, and honor for persons in a position of dignity and authority. It is opposed to both the vice of disobedience and the vice of unquestioning submission.
Gratitude: This is the habit of humble recognition of services and gifts provided by others. It is the habit of cultivating thanks in all appropriate circumstances and manifesting appropriate gratitude toward those who do good to you. It is opposed to both ingratitude and insecure people-pleasing behavior.
Self-Respect: The habit of lawfully seeking justice when one has been wronged. This habit is motivated by charity and respect for what is objectively good and lawful, rather than by anger. It is opposed to the vices of vengefulness and that vice of allowing yourself to be abused and trampled on by others.
Truthfulness: This is the habit of honesty and transparency in your relationships with others. It is opposed to the vices of lying, hypocrisy, bragging, and false humility.
Friendliness: This is the habit of friendliness, kindliness, and being an enjoyable person to be around. It is opposed to both flattery and quarrelsomeness.
Generosity: This is the habit of sharing your goods and talents with others for their own sake. This virtue is opposed to both greediness and the wasteful or reckless doling out/mismanagement of your own resources.
Discretion/Equity: This is the habit of right judgment and action toward others in dispensing with legislative prescriptions when in particular circumstances a technical application of the law would be in fact unjust. It is the virtue of supra-legal justice for others.