Archive for Thursday 4th July 2002 - Is there no justice in this world?

One of the proofs of immortality, taught by the ancient philosophers, was that we are born with certain knowledge in us. We know there are such things as beauty and justice, and we often talk about them. But we never see these things themselves, nor do we see any perfect examples of them. The most beautiful person has some ugly features, and even the most fair-minded person can act unjustly.

The philosophers gave a reason for this: the world, they said, is only a copy of the ‘real’ world that lies above it. Everything there is perfect. Our souls come from that world, so they have seen everything in its ideal state. They have known perfect justice, beauty, goodness and so on, not just the watered-down copies of these that we have on earth.

New-born souls are distressed when they enter this imperfect world. Sometimes they grow up angry and cynical. “There is no justice in the world,” they complain. But you cannot expect a copy to be as good as the real thing. The philosophers’ advice was to look towards the ideal in everything, rather than at flaws and imperfections. That way, they said, you will move closer towards truth and happiness.

This is just a story, of course. But it is the best one I know to explain the way things are on earth. We can never, in this life, see truth itself, so we have to settle for a good story. That is why the old philosophers expressed their knowledge in myths and fairy tales.

John Michell