Justice vs Revenge

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Justice is part of revenge; as also for revenge is part of justice. “Justice” comes from a Latin word that means “straight, fair, equal”, it’s the quality of being righteous and loyal towards one’s state, although serves the interests of the stronger (Hourani, 1962), while revenge is the act of taking retaliation for injuries or wrongs. What ever the circumstances are being the individual who experiences a unjust act, results in the hunt for one of these two things: Justice or revenge. What are the key differences between the two? Justice can be defined as the concept of moral rightness, which is based on the rules of law, fairness, ethics, and equality among the governed citizens. Revenge, on the other hand, refers to an action taken by an individual as a response to an act of injustice. The principle of revenge is “an eye for an eye”…. Can revenge be justified and be as equally part of justice if they both seek retribution for a wrongdoing? The universal distinction between justice and revenge is quite distinctive, is there more beyond their differences? Revenge is retaliation by a wronged party against the person or people they see as having caused the wrong. The person at whom the revenge is directed may have harmed the person carrying out an act of revenge indirectly or not at all, but on some level there is a perceived personal grievance. An unaffected third party, on the other hand, can carry out Justice. In most developed countries it is considered vital that the judiciary be independent from the government, partly for this reason, which is justice also doesn't necessarily involve any act of retribution. For example, the “acquittal” of an innocent person can be considered an act of justice, but it certainly isn't reveng... ... middle of paper ... ...Cited 12 Angry Men. Director, Sidney Lumet. 1957. DVD. To Kill a Mockingbird. Director, Robert Mulligan.1962. DVD. Hourani, George. Thrasymachus' Definition of Justice in Plato's Republic. 2. 7. Focus Publishing, 1962. eBook. . Rosenbaum, Thane. "Justice? Vengeance? You Need Both." New York Times [New York Edition] 27 July 2011, Daily A29. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. . Nunez, Mark. "12 Angry Men." University of San Francisco. University of San Francisco, April/2000. Web. 11 Dec 2011. . Elster, Jon. Norms of Revenge. 4. Blackwell Publisher, 1990. 862. eBook. . Bar-elli, G. and Heyd, D. (1986), Can revenge be just or otherwise justified?. Theoria, 52: 68–86. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-2567.1986.tb00100.x

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