This presentation explores the ontology of justice by tracing its conceptual evolution across Greek, Roman, Islamic, and Bahá'í thought, emphasizing how Bahá'í writings offer a distinctive perspective that transcends conventional human-centered legal frameworks.
In Greek tragedy, justice (dike) was conceived as a cosmic principle, binding both gods and men under an immutable law. However, the post-Socratic and Roman-Latin legal traditions confined justice to human jurisprudence (ius), emphasizing social equity and retribution rather than universal order. This anthropocentric shift continued in Western legal and political philosophy, where justice became a human construct rather than a fundamental force shaping all existence.
By contrast, Bahá'í thought not only restores but expands upon the tragic Greek conception of justice, offering a vision that integrates divine legislation, moral order, and cosmic harmony. The Bahá'í writings articulate justice (‘adl) as both an ontological reality and a divinely revealed framework, wherein the Manifestations of God serve as the ultimate embodiments and articulators of justice and law. This perspective not only reaffirms justice as a universal force but also uniquely positions divine revelation as its primary expression in human history. Unlike classical Islamic jurisprudence, which often frames divine justice in relation to divine command, Bahá'í thought presents justice as the organizing principle of creation itself.
Through an analysis of Bahá’í scripture, this presentation will explore:
- How Bahá'í writings employ ‘adl (justice) as a universal law permeating all existence, from human society to the natural world.
- The contrast between human-centered justice in Latin and modern secular traditions and divinely ordained justice in Bahá’í thought.
- The role of the Manifestations of God as the embodiments and articulators of justice, shaping both spiritual and legal paradigms.
- The Bahá’í resolution of the rights-versus-responsibilities dichotomy, emphasizing that true justice involves not only the honoring of rights but also the duty of selfless service to the advancement of all beings.
This presentation ultimately argues that the Bahá’í conception of justice offers not just a theological vision, but a philosophically rigorous and transformative framework for rethinking the nature of law, morality, and governance.
This presentation examines the ontology of justice through Bahá'í perspectives on law, being, and divine order, contrasting them with Greek, Roman, Islamic, and modern secular traditions. While classical Greek thought conceived of justice as a cosmic principle governing all existence, later traditions confined it to human affairs. The Bahá'í writings, however, go beyond merely restoring a tragic Greek conception of justice by introducing a fundamental insight: justice is ultimately articulated by the Divine Manifestations, whose laws express the deeper structure of reality, and the achievement of which requires resolution of the rights-versus-duties dichotomy. This talk explores how Bahá’í jurisprudence reframes justice (‘adl) as a multi-dimensional, ontological reality, linking divine revelation, moral order, and the laws that govern existence itself.