Social justice, Plato, and The Spirits' Book

1. As progress gave rise to the slow and painful evolution of humanity, their ideal of justice and their hope to build a truly fair society has also evolved. However, such attempts have come across, at all times, the insurmountable obstacle that is a result of humankind’s own imperfection, especially with respect to their innate selfishness. This characteristic led Thomas Hobbes to argue that moral values were nothing more than manifestations of this same selfishness: "Good and evil are just what we like or that offends the survival instincts and the interests of the individual." "Society submits itself to the State, just like the new Leviathan and man is a wolf of other men." (On this regard, Guido de Ruggiero, BREVE HISTÓRIA DA FILOSOFIA (BRIEF HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY), Coimbra Editora Ltda., Coimbra, 1965, p. 261).This implies the predominance of the instincts and the bestiality still in force, both from the individual and social point of view and a minimal concern with the spiritual, often confused with the popular beliefs and superstitions. This state of affairs has prompted the emergence of the exacerbated materialism of the late eighteenth century, which now prevails, sovereign and paradoxically, not only in developed countries, but also in those which begin to emerge among the other nations like Brazil. Given this, no political or philosophical system has managed to equate the ever-growing problem of social injustice. There is no doubt that in this particular aspect, the material progress achieved by individual countries cannot be accepted and defined as synonymous with a more cohesive, more just and more fraternal society, especially in the face of the painful truth regarding how often this progress is achieved at the expense and loss of thousands of human beings.

2. This situation is, however, the contingency of the natural evolutionary condition of Earth as a planet of trial and atonement. Is not irreversible or irrevocable, as it may be changed for the better, in the same proportion as humankind change and promote through their own efforts, their inner improvement. It may lead to the psychic renewal of humanity, which will inevitably have to review and rethink their moral values. The effort in this direction, in which they will gradually become aware, may allow the replacement of selfishness as a lever driving human behaviour, through the feelings of brotherhood, solidarity and compassion, regardless of religious affiliation, nationality or social status. Unmistakably, Spiritism, despite its short existence of 154 years - taking as point of reference the publication of The SPIRITS' BOOK - could play a role of great importance, for, as Kardec said, "it has no nationality and does not stem from any known religion or sect that might exist; nor is it imposed by any social class, since it may lead all mankind to brotherhood. If it did not maintain itself in neutral territory, it would nurture dissensions instead of pacifying them "(THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO Spiritism, Introduction, Ed Feb, Rio, 1944, p.29). 

Social issues have not received the care they deserve 

3. Much is spoken, nowadays, of the "New Age" or the "Age of the Spirit." The testimony of history is eloquent in order to demonstrate that until 1857, when the first edition of THE SPIRITS' BOOK came to light, very little was contemplated about the spiritual side of man, and the binomial spirit-matter, within which all human problems should be seen, examined and equated, was still taken to the account of witchcraft, demon's work or the art of the alchemists. The chain reaction caused by the release of the first codification works constituted an eloquent accounting that the ideals that they contained troubled and endangered the status quo of the ruling classes, in terms of intellectual, political or religious point of view, because, conscious or unconsciously, these segments of society felt it was time for profound changes in the old and rotten Western civilization. Moreover, undisputedly, such changes did not interest them, as indeed it still does not.

4. Social issues - that today are not restricted to relationships among individuals, nor from nation to nation, but that also claim for a conscious, respectful and loving relationship of all humankind with nature in order to save, while there is still time, "mother earth" - have not earned from humanity the indispensable care. Some more enlightened Spirits reincarnated here, before and after Jesus have escaped this general rule marked by laziness and selfishness. However, they were not understood and ultimately rejected by their contemporaries, like what happened to Socrates, one of the major victims of human being's spiritual poverty. Plato, one of the forerunners of Christianity, revealed in Republic, his concern with the theme, making some assumptions needed to understand the creation of an ideal society. His ideas were far superior to those proposed later on, for example, by Marxism, Socialism or Capitalism, for they were devoid of the materialism with which the latter ones are impregnated. It began by questioning what was called an ethical problem: "How would the establishment of justice be possible? Justice exists only in a just social organization: the Just State. Therefore, justice would consist of a political problem." The question about the political problem lingers "How to attain the Just State? The Just State would be one ruled by fair statesmen or the most capable ones." This would result in a third problem of psychological nature, since it would imply the answer to the question: "But who are the most righteous and capable leaders?" In the solution to this question is an eminently Christian content and in great tune with the teaching of the Spirits: "The human problem is prior to politics. States depend on the men who compose them. Improving men is to improve the states. Social reforms do not improve men. Conclusion: First, we need to study the man (psychological problem). Men fall into three main classes: the producers, in which predominates a lustful soul, of appetites, impulses and instincts; the military, dominated by the irascible soul, of courage, enthusiasm and excitement; the guardians, wise or philosopher-kings who assert themselves by reason, meditation, and detachment of material goods and by the desire of knowledge. The role of men in the first type is the production; the second type has the function of protection and the third is of governing. Conclusion: justice can only be achieved if the State is ruled by philosopher-kings or wise men." (Ney Lobo, ESTUDOS DE FILOSOFIA SOCIAL ESPÍRITA (SOCIAL STUDIES ON SPIRITIST PHILOSOPHY), Ed Feb, Rio, 1991, ps. 25 and 26.) 

Plato and Socrates are considered forerunners of Spiritism 

Education - one of the main goals of Spiritism - would be the basic tool for the formation of the just statesman or the philosopher-king: "After 20 years of education, from birth and by the State, all are undergone tests. Those who fail move to production. The approved ones continue in education. After a second stage of 10 years, the ones who failed go to protection as military and the approved ones move on. After a third stage of five years in which they learn the Doctrine of Ideas, they will pass to the 4th stage of 15 years of practice in touch with the real world and at the end of which, already with 50 years of age, they are considered suitable to rule. “(Ney Lobo, op. Cit, p. 26.)

5. While one cannot deny the idealistic or utopian character of the Platonic State, it contains truths that later were confirmed by the Spirits, in Part III of THE SPIRITS' BOOK. It was not therefore without reason that Kardec assigns to Plato, along with Socrates, the condition of forerunners of Spiritism. Both considered reincarnation as a natural fact, preached a distinction between the intelligent principle (soul or spirit) and the material principle, the supremacy of that on this and man's responsibility for their own errors. Besides, they recognized that justice, that reveals the most authentic charity, was the primary factor for a truly fraternal living among the members of society, preceding the very teachings of Jesus: "You should never do injustice to others in return to injustice, nor harm others in return for whatever harm done to you. Few, however, are those who admit this principle, and those who quarrel in this respect will do nothing, undoubtedly, but feel mutual contempt. “(O p. cit., "Summary of the doctrine of Socrates and Plato," no. XII.

These principles coincide with some of the so-called Basic Principles of Spiritism, which are developed throughout the Codification and are synthesized, as is the case in a Constitution, in THE SPIRITS' BOOK.

The Platonic philosophical construction - in which includes its ideal State - had as its foundation, with the necessary modifications, the same principles or assumptions that later, the Superior Spirits dictated to mankind, as general guidelines for their spiritual progress, and consequently, for their moral advancement, within all Spirit's natural pathway, ranging from simplicity and ignorance to perfection.

In Republic, Plato says that the foundation of a fraternal society is the establishment of justice. Not the justice of appearances, of solemn and formal rituals, but that which is above human conventionalism, as Jesus warns in the Sermon on the Mount: "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 5: 20).  

The sense of justice is implicit in nature 

It is a task that, from a legal standpoint, continues to find obstacles that are difficult to surmount, because men today still do not understand the concepts of Justice and Law, which, as it has always been at all stages of history, keeps on being developed at the whim of individual interests or particular groups. The issue arises, however, outside the scope of these considerations, since it is specific subject area of Philosophy of Law, and it would be completely pointless to enter the winding maze of the existing doctrinal discussions about it. What matters in this case is a reminder about Plato's position in the face of the subject, in view of the similarity of his thought with that of the Spirits. Justice, in its meaning, as to what is observed among the true Christians, can only be understood within a universalist view and that is indispensable to the individual and social life. Giorgio Del Vecchio (JUSTICE, Portuguese translation by Antônio Pinto de Carvalho, Ed Saraiva. São Paulo, 1960, p. 18) refers to the subject by saying: "Plato intends to elevate justice to the category of regulative principle of the individual and social life as a whole, (sic) he neglects or rejects all conceptions designed to give it specific function or particular sphere of application". Still according to the same author (op. cit., P. 18), he "restores the essence of justice in the "performance of its own duty." Now, the duty as something that should be done or avoided for the benefit of others and the community is printed on the conscience of man and identifies with the natural feeling of justice that we all possess.

The question 873 of THE SPIRITS' BOOK explains that this sense of justice "is so natural that your feeling spontaneously revolts at the idea of an injustice. Moral progress undoubtedly develops this sentiment, but it does not create it. God has placed it in the heart of man. For this reason you often find, among simple and primitive people, notions of justice more exact than those of others who are possessed of a larger amount of knowledge."

7. In addressing the just society, which he calls the Just City, Plato, while acknowledging the difficulty to reach an exact definition of justice, he believes that, like virtue, it is common to man and the city: "In the city, it is somehow printed in larger type and therefore easier to decipher. That is why it is necessary to study it first; then to apply the results to the human soul and, where necessary, supplement them or modify them" (according to Robert Bacou, REPUBLIC, Introduction, Difusão Europeia do Livro, São Paulo, 1973, Volume I, p. 21).

In Chapter VIII of Part III of The Spirits' Book, under the title "The Law of Progress", the Spirits, despite the diversity of language, refers to the individual and collective responsibility and the consequences of complying or not with its rules can have on men and peoples.

The question 875, on the other hand, shows the importance of justice as a necessary attribute to a truly just society, as is expected it to be in the new era that is approaching: "Justice consists in respect for the rights of others."  

In the world we live in the legal is not always just 

The idea of justice prevalent in older cultures, understood as a form of "doing good to friends, and evil to enemies" (Giorgio Del Vecchio, op. Cit, p. 18) was not only rejected by Jesus (Matthew, 5:43 to 46), but it deserved the censure of Plato, who did not agree with it explicitly. Respect the right of others is a duty to all, and may have no importance for the full realization of this duty, the condition of friend or enemy of the right holder. That Jesus outlawed in the most perfect ethical-legal pronouncement that has been heard of on Earth, the Sermon on the Mount; Plato condemned it about three hundred and fifty years before the Master; the Spirits taught it, especially when caring for the perfection of God's Justice and His law, "the only rule that insures the happiness of man. It shows him what he should or should not do, and he only suffers because he disobeys it. “(Op. cit., Q.614.)

8. Indisputable is the fragility of man-made law, despite its theoretical status as an instrument for the realization of justice. Being man-made, it is subject to the vicissitudes, mistakes, failures and omissions that every human achievement contains M. Hence the reason he goes, many times, diametrically opposite to the way he should go and leads to results of obvious and undeniable injustice. Legal does not always mean just, since the law only defines itself as just when it is equivalent to the natural law, in accordance with the approach taken by the Spirits in the aforementioned question 614.It transcends all the speculation and creation of a political, social or legal nature; it is inscribed in the conscience of every man, and yet all may know it, all may not understand it: "Those who understand it best are they who seek after goodness. All, however, will one day understand it, for the destiny of progress must be accomplished" (op. cit., questions 621 and 619, respectively).

The men who decide to investigate it and apply it, both as regards the private life of each one and concerning one's experience in the community they belong to, are those who would fall between the Just State and the more capable reported by Plato. They would be in charge of ruling the State, since they fall among the philosopher-kings or wise men, position achieved through the only way truly capable of raising and promoting the moral elevation of man: the way of education.

These men would have reached the level where the good man is, which means the real progress and elevation of his Spirit in the spirit-hierarchy. According to question 918, "The elevation of the Spirit is proved by the conformity of all the acts of his corporeal life with the Law of God, and by his comprehension of spiritual life." In comments to this answer, the Codifier highlighted: "The truly virtuous man is he who practices the law of justice, love and charity, in its greatest purity. If he interrogates his conscience concerning the acts accomplished by him. He will ask himself whether he has done nothing wrong, whether he has done all the good in his power, whether no one has cause to complain of him, and whether he has done to others all that he would wish others to do to him." 

Plato envisioned the society of the third millennium 

9. When considering the necessity of social life, the Spirits asserted in the fundamental assumptions of human evolution the destination of man for living in society (question 766), the violation of this natural law means the absolute isolation stands as an obstacle to progress (question 767), and the absolute necessity of contact with other men as the only way for him to develop his faculties (question 768).

Utopia aside, the new society of the third millennium was envisioned by the Greek philosopher in the following terms: "The city has the perfect four quintessential virtues: wisdom, courage, temperance and justice. The wisdom or good advice for the preservation of the city lies in the magistrates; the courage, discipline and right opinion about what is to be feared or not, belongs to the warriors; temperance, harmony and volunteer symphony between the superior and inferior parts of the soul can only be in the collective soul or in the city, a mutual and total agreement between the rulers and the ruled. The rest is justice. Therefore, the essential principle of the Republic - each one should remain in his place and fulfil the mission for which he was born. This is the principle that governs all other virtues, that keeps the ruler in his outpost, the soldier in the fight, the cobbler in awl - as a mercenary, auxiliary or guard, if each one takes his place and his duty, justice will be accomplished in the city." (Robert Baccou, op. Cit. Introduction.)

The evolution of the planet that will transform it into world of regeneration, with the predominance of good over evil, excludes the necessity of warriors in the ordinary and primitive meaning of the word, even because the war will vanish from the face of the Earth, "when men comprehend justice and practice the Law of God. All men will then be brothers "(op. cit., question 743).But Plato himself foresaw this situation, classifying them as those with courage, right opinion and discipline in the face of the most difficult situations and which require from man those three qualities. Earth will still live with these situations, although in much smaller scale than what is observed today, during the period in which, increasingly, its change and its elevation in the hierarchy of worlds will be carried out.

In fact, all that the great thinker of antiquity taught and proposed was duly taken up by common sense and genius of Kardec, supported by Spirits from the perspective of the Gospel and summarized by the Codifier, when he says that the mission of Spiritism is to unite all men around the banner of brotherhood!