The Metaphysics of Justice: Is Justice Discovered or Created by Humanity?

The Metaphysics of Justice: Is Justice Discovered or Created by Humanity? What if justice is neither an eternal truth waiting to be discovered nor a mere invention imposed by power? In The Metaphysics of Justice, jurist and philosopher Northon Salomão de Oliveira explores one of the oldest and most profound questions in legal philosophy through an original and interdisciplinary framework that bridges jurisprudence, philosophy, psychology, artificial intelligence, political theory, and complexity science. Beginning with the image of a flawed compass inherited across generations, the book develops a powerful metaphor for legal systems themselves: instruments that guide human societies while concealing the assumptions embedded within them. From H. L. A. Hart, Hans Kelsen, Ronald Dworkin, Lon Fuller, David Hume, and John Finnis to modern debates surrounding algorithmic justice, predictive policing, and AI governance, the author examines whether law discovers moral reality or continuously constructs it. Rejecting the traditional opposition between natural law and legal positivism, Oliveira proposes a new philosophical model in which justice emerges through an ongoing process of institutional calibration, historical correction, and human cooperation. Justice, in this account, is not static but dynamic, constantly tested against experience, social change, and the limits of human knowledge. Combining rigorous scholarship with elegant literary prose, The Metaphysics of Justice challenges readers to rethink the foundations of legal authority, moral responsibility, constitutional interpretation, and the future of justice in an age increasingly governed by intelligent machines. Ideal for scholars, lawyers, judges, philosophers, policymakers, students, and anyone interested in the deepest questions about law and human civilization, this book offers a bold new contribution to contemporary legal philosophy. If justice is our compass, who calibrated the needle? Legal Philosophy Philosophy of Justice Natural Law Legal Positivism Jurisprudence Artificial Intelligence and Law Political Philosophy Legal philosophy, jurisprudence, philosophy of law, metaphysics of justice, justice theory, natural law, legal positivism, H. L. A. Hart, Hans Kelsen, Ronald Dworkin, Lon Fuller, legal realism, constitutional theory, constitutional interpretation, rule of law, legal theory, moral philosophy, political philosophy, ethics, normative ethics, applied ethics, philosophy of justice, legal reasoning, judicial decision making, judicial philosophy, constitutional law, human rights theory, comparative law, legal institutions, legal systems, law and society, sociology of law, law and technology, artificial intelligence and law, AI governance, algorithmic justice, algorithmic bias, machine learning ethics, legal AI, digital governance, legal epistemology, philosophy of institutions, moral realism, legal constructivism, democratic theory, public law, legal hermeneutics, legal interpretation, legal methodology, interdisciplinary law, political theory, institutional theory, philosophy of science, complexity science, systems theory, entropy and law, governance, ethics of technology, digital ethics, social contract theory, jurisprudential analysis, legal innovation, constitutional democracy, philosophy of governance, legal reform, justice and fairness, legal scholarship, legal research, contemporary jurisprudence, legal ethics, law and artificial intelligence