Justifying

Justifying refers to the act of providing reasons, evidence, or an explanation to show that something is acceptable, appropriate, or lawful. It can apply to beliefs, statements, actions, policies, or decisions. In everyday use, a justification explains why a choice was made or why a claim should be accepted.

In philosophy and epistemology, justification is the grounds that make a belief rational to hold. A belief is considered justified if there are adequate reasons or evidence. Justification is not itself a guarantee of truth, and it may be challenged by counterarguments, new information, or conflicting evidence.

In ethics and law, justification occurs when an action is morally permissible or legally defensible. A person may claim justification to excuse or validate conduct that would otherwise be wrongful, or to argue that force or coercion was warranted in a particular situation, such as self-defense or necessity.

In typography, justification is the alignment of text to both the left and right margins. Left justification (ragged right) is common, while full justification adjusts interword spacing to create even margins on both sides. This can affect readability, sometimes producing awkward spacing or rivers of white space, which editors manage with hyphenation, word-spacing adjustments, and line-length considerations.