Revenge Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
- Revenge is also the name of a 1990 movie.
Revenge is a hotly contested ethical issue in philosophy. Some feel it is necessary to maintain a just society. In some societies, it is believed that the damage inflicted should be greater than the original one, as a punitive measure. The Old Testament philosophy of "an eye for an eye" tried to limit the allowed damage to avoid a violence spiral. Detractors argue revenge is more like the logical fallacy "two wrongs make a right." Some Christians quote the line "'Revenge is mine' says the Lord" which is to say that, in their faith, only God has the moral right to exact revenge.
Vendettas were an important part of many pre-industrial societies, especially in the Mediterranean region.
The goal of some legal systems is limited to "just" revenge. However, a system evolved that substituted the damage of revenge with reparations like blood money or forcing a rapist to marry his victim. Modern Western legal systems usually state as their goal reeducation or reinsertion. Even in these systems, the notion of justice as revenge is held by part of the society.
Revenge has been a popular theme for art and culture throughout history. Many popular motion pictures have used it as a central theme, including Payback, The Wrath of Khan and Kill Bill. Classic literary examples of revenge stories include The Oresteia, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, Chushingura, Don Giovanni, La Forza del Destino, Moby-Dick, The Cask of Amontillado, and The Count of Monte Cristo.
Some productions show disapproval for revenge as in the acclaimed episode, Heart of Ice. In this story, Mr. Freeze pursues a vendetta against a callous business executive, Harvey Boyle, whose interruption of a life saving, if unauthorized, procedure killed Freeze's wife and create his deadly intolerance of above freezing temperatures. Batman learns about this grudge and stops Freeze from murdering Boyle in revenge, but also presents evidence of Boyle's crime guarenteeing Boyle's arrest and giving Freeze justice. In Brother Bear, a young man starts a cycle of violent vengeance that brings more suffering to the loved ones around him that only ends when he realizes he had been wrong to start it and a young one he has grown to love and inadvertantly harmed in his vendetta finds the wisdom and moral strength to forgive him. In Moby-Dick, Ahab's absurd desire for revenge against the white whale, a dumb beast that has no concept of this human desire, leads his ship and crew to ruin.
Quotations on Revenge
See also
Duel, forgiveness, Compensation Essay
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