You can't justify rationalizations

 One of my pet peeves stems from a lazy comment made by an actual Princeton political philosophy professor on my senior thesis about governmental lying (“Lying in State” – I’m such a cut-up). He talked about the Iran-Contra criminals “justifying their actions.” Fortunately, there’s something called a Senior Paper in which the students respond to a professor’s question. It’s usually an excuse to dump research that didn’t fit in to the thesis, but I started from scratch and wrote a 20-page work on practical ethics. (Got an A-)

I won’t go over (or can’t remember?) my arguments. The point here is definitional. (Game Show Host Voice:) "So let's go to the dictionary definitions!" - which are (for once?) really helpful.

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Rationalize

to ascribe (one's acts, opinions, etc.) to causes that superficially seem reasonable and valid but that actually are unrelated to the true, possibly unconscious and often less creditable or agreeable causes, especially after the event

(old usage) “to make conformable to reason”

to invent plausible explanations for acts, opinions, etc., that are actually based on other causes: “He tried to prove that he was not at fault, but he was obviously rationalizing.”

Justify

to prove or see to be just or valid

to show adequate grounds for doing

to show (an act, claim, statement, etc.) to be just or right: “The end does not always justify the means.”

Theology: to declare innocent or guiltless

from Old French justifier,  c.1300, "to administer justice," also "to show (something) to be just or right," from Latin justificāre, "act justly toward, make just, righteous," from jūstus just  + facere to make

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 In its original sense, justificāre was active: “act justly toward,” “make just,” deal justly, do justice. As a rough guide, “justify” is something you properly do before you act, “rationalize” is something you improperly make up after the fact. Justification is righteous (dude). Rationalization is weasel-y.

If it’s not completely on board, under my definition, it’s not justification. The hard part is that it’s NOT black/white, not easy - and that might be the point. All we can do is the best we can – but we have to do it.