People enjoy revenge because it makes them believe that a “mistake” in the world has been corrected.
I agree with Big Sam.
If, for example, someone embarrasses you in front of your peers by making some sort of derogatory remark, then most people would want to react. To get back at them. To embarrass them in front of the same group.
It provides the responder with two pluses. It supercedes the original comment in the minds of the group, thus reducing the feeling of embarrassment, and it gives the responder a feeling of satisfaction at having made the first person suffer in the same way.
This is an example of revenge at its least destructive. Where the first act and the revenge are more destructive is where you approach the line between legal and illegal actions.
Big Sam mentions the behavior of children. If a child, during an argument, accidentally breaks a toy belonging to another child, the second child may take revenge by breaking a toy of the first child. Stricly speaking, this response would be criminal and, if these were adults, could lead to prosecution. Hopefully, as we mature, we are less likely to take this type of action.
Some of us have an overdeveloped sense of fairness. We want to take it into our own hands to even the score. Sure, it’s unrealistic, but there it is.
[Hypothetical scenario] If my boyfriend cheats on me, that’s not fair. He got to have an affair, and I didn’t. Plus, I had to suffer all the hurt of betrayal, and he didn’t. But I’m not going to have an affair, because I don’t want to. Nevertheless, I’m going to make him pay. Since I’m not passive-aggressive, I’m not going to take out my anger in sneaky little ways. No. I’m going to yell and scream at him every time I think about the despicable thing he did, right up until the time that the hurt fades away. If I didn’t do this, I don’t think I could possibly stay with him, because I’d feel like too much of a schmuck doormat.[hypothetical scenario]
I believe in revenge, because I subscribe to the emotion of “Piss me off, pay the consequences”.
Most of the fun in ‘revenge’ is thinking-up the cruel and unusual things you COULD do to whoever pissed you off in the first place. I think there is more satisfaction to be gained that way rather than putting them into practice, well most of the time anyway. 
Surreal,
I think the point of revenge has a very valid evolutionary basis. That basis is that if you f*** with me I will hurt you 10 times worse. Otherwise known as protecting your territory. Does it make sense for us rational humans? Sometimes. OBL killed a bunch of Americans and, according to your OP, attacking him wouldn’t restore any of those who died so why bother? The point is that some actions are not acceptable and if you cross the line we will hunt you down and hurt-kill you. Even if it takes 80 years you will be punished. While revenge is a part of it the big issue is to show what happens when you break the rules.
A personal example: I bought a car from a dealership that my sister recommended because she was friends with a salesman who worked there. It turned out that the car I bought would never clear the emmision tests and the dealership was faking the emmision tests. I lost about 2 grand on the deal, not alot of money. But, once I found that I was screwed over, I decided that this would not happen to anyone else. It took a couple months and a lot of my time but in the end all the dealerships were shut down. It turned out that the owners were faking the tests and the lower people didn’t know about it. Revenge was part of why I had the dealerships shut down. But the main reason I went after these people is that I decided I would not let this happen in my world.
Slee
Or, as Archie Bunker put it:
“Of course revenge is good. There’s no better way to get even!”
Actually, sleestak’s description of the evolutionary underpinnings of revenge remind me of the Doomsday device from Dr. Strangelove. Still, I think that’s the right answer… the threat of revenge is an excellent deterrent, but it only works if you actually use it.
Just anther thought on the subject.
Revenge is so fun, because it defies logic. What I mean is, when it comes to revenge, true unbridled revenge, we don’t think by the rules. All bets are off. If we feel cheated, it’s because we feel the other person ignored the rules. If they can do it, why can’t we. I’ll get 'em back for what they did, and I won’t play by the rules either.
It gets us in touch with our evil!
what are you, a freaking vulcan?
“revenge is not logical, captain kirk.”
dood, i’m all about revenge. feels good to get my get-back on. i hold grudges like you wouldn’t believe.
but about your nazi example, there is no statute of limititations on murder. those guys need to pay.
Juanita…the way he phrased the question earlier in this thread was “why does this emotion exist” What? That’s like saying “why does happiness exist” “why do we need oxygen to live”
Discussing the motives behind revenge and why it feels good IS a good discussion. Discussing how we can get rid of a basic human instinct is sort of fruitless.
But carry on. I’m just hypersensitive to Surreal
Your OP is conflicting, as stated earlier. The trials have nothing to do with revenge. It’s justice, as defined by society.
But if I may address the first part, why people like revenge. IMO, the people this most often applies to, are those who’s ego can’t realistically deal with the fact that someone’s bested them. It’s a competitive society, and if someone wrongs me, or gets the better of me, I feel inferior for letting it happen. So I have to “one-up” them as a way of saving face.
You’re not alone, jar. When I read these questions, I get the overwhelming sense of being condescended to by an overwhelmingly superior being: “What? You mean, you don’t live your lives and make your choices entirely on a rational basis? You aren’t constantly thinking about efficiency and empirically derived efficacy? While I concede a modicum of pity for the tortured life I assume you lead, sub-human, I thank you in advance for the courtesy of not attempting to entangle me in your miseries.” :rolleyes:
Surreal - Revenge in part exists because there are wrongs committed by people which aren’t crimes. That doesn’t mean they aren’t wrong. And the person seeking the revenge is seeking to right the wrong, and (as Sleestak said) to protect one’s turf, but also to teach a lesson, just as a legal remedy might. The law might not give an example for correct behaviour, but if you punish them (by getting back or even or just shunning them ), they learn what is correct.
StG
Revenge is NOT done in order to get JUSTICE. We can clearly see that people often take revenge on people and institutions that had nothing to do with the events that caused them to seek revenge. Such as some kid who was picked on in school taking revenge on a fellow for no other reason than he reminded him of his childhood bullies. And it’s not just a matter of mental illness, everyone makes these kind of connections. It DOES take a special kind of person to actually take revenge. Taking revenge on SOCIETY is more popular than ever because we don’t want to bother getting revenge on the actual indiviudals who harmed us.
JuanitaTech is more correct. People just hate it when other people are happier or more supposedly better off than them, and some will do what it takes to take them down a few pegs. When it suits the occasion, they call it revenge.
Eternal,
I think you are confusing general anger about unfair situations with the idea of revenge. Revenge is making those who have harmed you pay for harming you. The example you gave is someone ‘getting revenge’ on others who haven’t caused any harm, for pure spite. That is a different issue. Hurting others who are not invloved should not happen.
What revenge comes down to is personal responsiblity. If you hurt me or my famaily I will hurt you back a million fold. If you do not harm me or my family then the issue doesn’t matter.
Slee
Nonsense. It is merely the popular concept of revenge which leads you to believe that is the nature of revenge. As I said, the existance of the idea of “Revenge against Society”-common among punk kids and to all people to a certain extent -shows that people don’t even get revenge against specific people, it’s just an outlet for anger in general.
My take is that revenge is acting on hate. Hate is a useful feeling since it makes us attack the being who cause us harm. Now, as a human, we have a vivid memory and a strong imagination. So, we’re able to revive and “re-feel” the harm someone did to us. It’s sort of permanent for us. Hence, we can still be filled with hate when the harm done is long past and we still want to “attack” the offender.
IOW, our craving for revenge wouldn’t be necessarily useful in itself (though actually it could be useful as a detterent…other people know humans love revenge), but the result of two different separately useful traits, hate and vivid memory.
I don’t enjoy revenge. It’s an odd thing–first I am possessed by a blinding desire to take revenge, but if I wait a little while, it goes away. On the few instances when I have given in to the desire, it only feels good for about 2 seconds. Then I feel vaguely sick and feel bad about myself. I’ve just dropped myself to the other person’s level, or even lower, so I feel awful about myself.
I also believe that what goes around comes around, and try to stick to that principle in life.