ABSTRACT Is “Social Justice” Justice? a Thomistic Argument For
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ABSTRACT Is “Social Justice” Justice? A Thomistic Argument for “Social Persons” as the Proper Subjects of the Virtue of Social Justice John R. Lee, Ph.D. Mentor: Francis J. Beckwith, Ph.D. The term “social justice,” as it occurs in the Catholic social encyclical tradition, presents a core, definitional problem. According to Catholic social thought, social justice has social institutions as its subjects. However, in the Thomistic tradition, justice is understood to be a virtue, i.e., a human habit with human persons as subjects. Thus, with its non-personal subjects, social justice would seem not to be a virtue, and thus not to be a true form of justice. We offer a solution to this problem, based on the idea of social personhood. Drawing from the Thomistic understanding of “person” as a being “distinct in a rational nature”, it is argued that certain social institutions—those with a unity of order—are capable of meeting Aquinas’ analogical definition of personhood. Thus, social institutions with a unity of order—i.e., societies —are understood to be “social persons” and thus the proper subjects of virtue, including the virtue of justice. After a review of alternative conceptions, it is argued that “social justice” in the Catholic social encyclical tradition is best understood as general justice (justice directed toward the common good) extended to include not only human persons, but social persons as well. Advantages of this conception are highlighted. Metaphysically, an understanding of social justice as exercised by social persons fits nicely with an understanding of society as non-substantial, but subsistent being. This understanding of societal being supports certain intuitions we have about the nature of societal organization. In regards to social philosophy, an understanding of social justice as general justice exercised by social persons helps to account for the principle of subsidiarity and situate it properly within the domain of just acts. Consequently, the notion of social personhood helps to bring social institutions—considered per se, not as mere summations of individual persons—into the domain of justice. Copyright © 2008 by John R. Lee All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments........................................................................................................... viii Dedication ....................................................................................................................... ix Chapter One: Introduction............................................................................................... 1 Chapter Two: Social Justice in the Social Encyclicals ................................................... 7 2.1 Social Justice in Quadragesimo Anno ................................................................... 7 2.1a The First Element of Pius’ Definition: The Common Good as Object ........... 8 2.1b The Second Element of Pius’ Definition: The Matter..................................... 9 2.1c The Third Element of Pius’ Definition: The Subjects of Social Justice.......... 11 2.1d Summary of Pius’ Definition of Social Justice ............................................... 13 2.2 Social Justice in Mater et Magistra ....................................................................... 13 2.3 Social Justice in Populorum Progressio ............................................................... 15 2.4 Social Justice in Laborem Exercens ...................................................................... 16 2.5 Social Justice in Centesimus Annus ...................................................................... 18 2.6 Summary of Social Justice in the Social Encyclicals............................................ 19 Chapter Three: Interpretations of Social Justice ............................................................. 20 3.1 Nell-Breuning’s Interpretation of Social Justice................................................... 20 3.2 Social Justice According to Leo Shields............................................................... 24 3.3 Legal and Social Justice According to Jeremiah Newman ................................... 24 3.3a General Justice According to Aquinas ............................................................ 25 3.3b Newman's Conception of the Law Which Pertains to Legal Justice............... 26 3.3c Newman's Understanding of Social Justice..................................................... 29 iii 3.3d Newman's Identification of Social Justice with the Old Legal Justice is Inadequate....................................................................................................... 31 3.4 Social Justice According to William Ferree.......................................................... 32 3.4a Newman's Critique of Ferree........................................................................... 33 3.4b Social Habit and Social Justice in Ferree........................................................ 34 3.4c Social Habit and Institutions Properly Understood......................................... 37 3.5 Michael Novak’s Conception of Social Justice..................................................... 42 Chapter Four: The Idea of Social Personhood ................................................................ 47 4.1 Unity of Order ....................................................................................................... 47 4.1a What Kind of Order?....................................................................................... 51 4.1b A Summary of the Unity of Order .................................................................. 52 4.2 Personhood in Aquinas.......................................................................................... 53 4.2a The Divine Persons.......................................................................................... 55 4.2b Human Persons................................................................................................ 56 4.2c A Broader Definition of Person....................................................................... 58 4.2d The Analogical Nature of Personhood............................................................ 59 4.2e Consolidating the Definition of Personhood ................................................... 61 4.3 Social Groups as Social Persons ........................................................................... 62 4.3a The First Criterion: Does the Unity of Order Entail Distinctness? ................. 62 4.3b The Second Criterion: A Rational Nature? ..................................................... 65 4.4 Summary ............................................................................................................... 66 Chapter Five: The Ontology of the Social Person........................................................... 68 5.1 Subsistence: An Objection .................................................................................... 68 5.2 Subsistence in the Context of the Human Soul..................................................... 69 iv 5.3 Social Persons as Subsistences.............................................................................. 71 5.4 Subsistence and Substance.................................................................................... 72 5.5 Soul as Substance? ................................................................................................ 79 5.6 Alternatives to Subsistent Societal Being: Accidental Being ............................... 82 5.7 Alternatives to Subsistent Societal Being: Substantial Being............................... 91 5.8 Advantages of an Understanding of Subsistent Societal Being ............................ 92 5.9 How Societies Have Subsistent Being: A Proposal .............................................. 93 5.9a An Analogy to a Mediated Act-of-being......................................................... 97 5.10 A Prime Example of Non-substantially Subsistent Societal Being .................... 98 5.11 Relationship of the Unity of Order to Subsistence..............................................100 5.12 Maritain’s Argument for the Subsistence of the Church.....................................104 5.13 Summary .............................................................................................................107 Chapter Six: The Acts of Social Persons ........................................................................110 6.1 The Powers of the Social Person...........................................................................110 6.2 Social Persons and Habits .....................................................................................115 6.2a Social Persons and Operative Habits............................................................... 115 6.2b Social Persons as Meeting the Three Conditions for Habit ............................118 6.2c Social Persons and Natural Habit....................................................................120 6.3 Social Persons and Virtues....................................................................................122 Chapter Seven: Social Persons and Social Justice .......................................................... 126 7.1 The Recipients of Acts of Justice by Social Persons ............................................126 7.2 The Common Good as the Object of Social Justice..............................................128 7.3 The Munus Regale .................................................................................................132 v 7.4