Revisiting Revenge

Despite its enduring presence in social life, politics, and the arts, revenge has been persistently condemned in moral and philosophical discourse. Revisiting Revenge explores the tension between the moral devaluation of revenge and the important roles it continues to play across diverse cultural contexts. Bringing together perspectives from philosophy, classics, anthropology, law, film, and literary studies, the volume challenges the dominant Western understanding of revenge as an inherently violent, irrational, and destructive practice. The contributions reveal a far more complex picture, showing how revenge remains deeply intertwined with questions of justice, law, social order, and moral repair. Examining revenge through philosophical, social-psychological, historical, and cultural-anthropological lenses, the volume reassesses the relationships between revenge, retributive emotions, and moral repair while also exposing the Eurocentric assumptions that have shaped influential theories of revenge in modern philosophy and the social sciences. At the same time, it investigates the central place of revenge in literature, film, and the cultural imaginary, demonstrating how artistic representations often capture dimensions of moral experience that dominant normative frameworks overlook. Offering a timely and interdisciplinary reappraisal of one of the most controversial concepts in moral and political thought, this book makes an original contribution to contemporary debates on justice, morality, and human coexistence.