Thread: Is revenge a higher motif?

This was buggin' me the whole weekend -
I'm thinking about it in context of psychological and evolutionary theory...
Is revenge a necessary opportunity and instrument for humankind to achive it's goals? And is forgiveness really an useful option if the one you forgive doesn't know about it? Is conscience overrated, cause it only harms yourself?
I'm not religious, so I don't think in religious categories.

Give some thoughts and experiences you have about revenge, conscience and forgiveness. An leave out religion...

Religion.
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it doesnt have to be revenge, actually. just a very strong desire will do. and of course, revenge is normally the strongest form of desire. as for forgiveness..we pretty much let go of everything when we forgive, so i think it really hinders evolution.

Originally Posted by Jyuu

Religion.

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it depends on what you're having revenge for. i mean, no need to get riled up if it's just a random insult at a party. but if someone throws you a punch in the face, then obviously you need to fight back.

...unless you deserved that punch in the face. in which case, revenge on their part is completely justified.

I think revenge just makes the world worse. Why bother with getting angry over stupid stuff like people talking shit. It can't hurt you if you know its not true or ignore it. If the world would just love eachother, everything would be perfect (or almost...)

It's a biological thing, isn't it? People feel the need to correct unjust actions. The role of courts in many societies today has mostly removed the need for personal vengeance, but if the courts are unjust, or if there isn't such a system... it's natural. People feel a personal hurt when someone is the victim of unjust behaviour (because of empathy), so in a sense, it is a personal injury they're correcting, too...

...if I ever remember the theory I read on this, I'll elaborate.

Justice. Revenge. All interrelated. I wouldn't go so far as to call either inherently good or inherently evil, both are necessary but unrealistic to take to extremes.

My answer is another question...

Under what context did Einstein figured out his papers? Was the semiconductor invented out of revenge?

Revenge is a feeling, not an instrument for advancement, but if you looked how revenge shaped our society today...