1) A Model for Understanding Justice: Introduction

               Ever since I was very young, I have thought long and hard about the concept of justice.  What, pray tell, was the difference between a serial killer and a war hero?  Was there some measureable, metaphysical principle which had judged one to be morally justified and the other to be morally culpable?  Or was it all cultural dictation, entirely relative to the times?  Intuition favored the former, and pursued an answer to its question.  I believe that I have found that metaphysical principle, or at least one of the many available, and in a more obvious place than anticipated: intent.

                It is through the lens of intent that I have devised a sort of “model”, so to speak, through which one can well understand justice.  I do not contend that it is the model, however.  There may well be more ways of understanding the concept of justice, with none being perfectly right or wrong.  This model will not tell you, for instance, exactly what justice is.  It is merely a medium of understanding how justice operates; if it does not help you, you can always drop it.  Now, if that is well understood, let us begin.