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Violence through revenge is deep within our core, and to deny it is to deny our humanity. Morality is only useful in times of civilized comfort. Wanting to see
by throwaway8879 8y ago
Violence through revenge is deep within our core, and to deny it is to deny our humanity. Morality is only useful in times of civilized comfort.
Wanting to see criminals suffer horribly is exactly as wrong, or exactly as right, as wanting to see them locked up for years and eventually possibly rehabilitate and rejoin greater society.
In other words, it really doesn't matter.
- rectang 8y ago> Violence through revenge is deep within our core, and to deny it is to deny our humanity. I agree. Dehumanizing the "other" is profoundly human. But rising above bloodthirst through rationality and empathy, and crafting institutions (such as laws) which better us all, together... is also profoundly human. > In other words, it really doesn't matter. The universe may be indifferent, but human actions are meaningful to other humans.
- tzar 8y agoSelf-centeredness (illustrated here as violence through revenge) is a characteristic most strongly associated with single-cell organisms. Along that axis, humans are characterized by being a complex system embedded in a complex system. We are defined by our internal and external organization, and are always striving in this way. The biggest denial of our humanity is to think of ourselves and our actions as apart from the reality of this systemic functioning.