Natural is not always Good

[_fustian]

Current Music: Stunned silence

I've just read an April New Yorker article by Collapse's Jared Diamond. (Coincidentally, I'd heard part of a radio interview with Diamond about this very article a month ago, in Perth, without getting the gist of it.) It's about vengeance, and is mostly concerned with describing the absurd and horrifying cycle of tit

Comments

[kremmen]

This is partly one of those questions of practice vs theory. Even if we all agree that a behavioural trait is unwelcome, which we might not, that doesn't mean that actual individuals can simply choose not to act on it or, if they do make that choice, not be miserable about it afterwards. That fact that you may call it a weakness doesn't make it any less real.

However, I believe the issue for the tribes and the issue for the Polish soldier are, essentially, at quite different points along a path. If the Polish government had executed the murderer or put him in jail for life, Jozef would presumably have been content. The real problem there was that the state failed to do what it should have done. Jozef did the "right" thing and the government let the killer go. Beyond the issue of revenge, someone who murders people because they might possibly have some money is an unacceptable risk to society and society should be protected from such a person.

[_fustian]

This is partly one of those questions of practice vs theory.

I agree, but that's true of any negative behavioural trait we try to moderate memetically. There are cultures who overcome violent tendencies in their children by using humour and gentle mockery in response to violent outbursts, for example. If a society tells itself that something is bad and harmful (or conversely, good and beneficial), that provides a strong incentive for individuals to moderate their instincts. Thus, it seems to me important for cultures to decide these things collectively and then to actively propagate those memes. As such, it matters a great deal how we choose to view issues like the desire for revenge.

[kremmen]

Sometimes a good kick in the pants is what is appropriate.

Some cultures believe in 'an eye for eye' - it is what they are comfortable with and very much a part of who they are. It is somewhat pious and pointless to judge them by a standard that they have no understanding or appreciation of.

I think a good kick in the pants would do wonders for some evil cretins in our society - sadly we seem to have lost that art.

Kate

[_fustian]

Sometimes a good kick in the pants is what is appropriate.

I have to disagree. Violence is almost never an appropriate response (the exception being self-defense against an implacable assailant).

Some cultures believe in 'an eye for eye'And they are inherently less civilised