Uploaded October 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
What is justice? Philosophy professor Geoffrey Sayre-McCord explains that one of the most influential accounts of the nature of justice comes from Plato’s Republic. According to Plato, we can think of the principles of justice as mutually agreed to principles for the coordination and structure of social interaction that would benefit all who are subject to them. More generally, we can think of justice as “each getting what is rightfully theirs and no one getting what is rightfully another’s.” In other words, questions of justice always essentially ask, “Who has a right to what?”
This video is part of a series exploring basic philosophical questions of justice, and is also part of a larger series on foundational topics in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) courses. Videos in the series feature six professors who teach in university PPE programs.
Watch the rest of the videos in the Justice playlist here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNeQlRoOOIMkxgrMHX-5QtQnQoKQFOB7W
Watch all 23 videos in the PPE series here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNeQlRoOOIMnPu92i-V0alFYHuGTkexfP
For additional PPE curriculum resources, including suggestions for further readings on each topic, visit our website: theihs.org/ppe
Subscribe to our channel to see upcoming videos: youtube.com/c/TheIHSorg?sub_confirmation=1
The Institute for Humane Studies supports and partners with professors to promote the teaching and research of classical liberal ideas and to advance higher education’s core purpose of intellectual discovery and human progress.
About Us: theihs.org/who-we-are
Twitter: twitter.com/theihs?lang=en
Facebook: facebook.com/InstituteforHumaneStudies
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/instituteforhumanestudies
Instagram: instagram.com/theihs
What is justice? Philosophy professor Geoffrey Sayre-McCord explains that one of the most influential accounts of the nature of justice comes from Plato’s Republic. According to Plato, we can think of the principles of justice as mutually agreed to principles for the coordination and structure of social interaction that would benefit all who are subject to them. More generally, we can think of justice as “each getting what is rightfully theirs and no one getting what is rightfully another’s.” In other words, questions of justice always essentially ask, “Who has a right to what?”
This video is part of a series exploring basic philosophical questions of justice, and is also part of a larger series on foundational topics in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) courses. Videos in the series feature six professors who teach in university PPE programs.
Watch the rest of the videos in the Justice playlist here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNeQlRoOOIMkxgrMHX-5QtQnQoKQFOB7W
Watch all 23 videos in the PPE series here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNeQlRoOOIMnPu92i-V0alFYHuGTkexfP
For additional PPE curriculum resources, including suggestions for further readings on each topic, visit our website: theihs.org/ppe
Subscribe to our channel to see upcoming videos: youtube.com/c/TheIHSorg?sub_confirmation=1
The Institute for Humane Studies supports and partners with professors to promote the teaching and research of classical liberal ideas and to advance higher education’s core purpose of intellectual discovery and human progress.
About Us: theihs.org/who-we-are
Twitter: twitter.com/theihs?lang=en
Facebook: facebook.com/InstituteforHumaneStudies
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/instituteforhumanestudies
Instagram: instagram.com/theihs
