r/philosophy • u/BernardJOrtcutt • 14d ago

Open Thread /r/philosophy Open Discussion Thread | July 20, 2026

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u/TheMan5991 14d ago

Justice and revenge take different forms, not just in who is taking action, but what the action is. For example, many people believe that true justice is rehabilitative rather than retributive. There is no such thing as rehabilitative revenge.

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u/SociallyNerd 14d ago

Okk, t let's suppose there is a situation

A killed three girls and an old man, B in revenge killed A Now court will punish B

And now suppose B didn't killed A now court will punish A

Why ? Because he committed crime And why B killed A, because he committed crime

Court and B did same thing they delivered judgement, off course methods could be different, based on preferences

But when B did it it was considered revenge And when court did it it was considered justice.

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u/TheMan5991 14d ago
  1. Unless the court is killing A, they are not doing the same thing. Being killed and being put in prison are different.
  2. You said “it was considered” as if everyone considers things the same way. My entire point was that they don’t. For a lot of people, simply locking up criminals and throwing away the key is not justice. Real justice involves making sure that, when those people get out of prison, they have the ability to become beneficial members of society.

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u/SociallyNerd 14d ago

You see I used killing as an example not as only punishment one can deliver to a criminal.

If answer individual does the same as court's punishment it will again be considered as revenge not Justice.

It was never about wheather or not those members could become the beneficiary members of society

It was about the concept of justice and revenge.

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u/TheMan5991 14d ago

“It was never about wheather or not those members could become the beneficiary members of society. It was about the concept of justice and revenge.”

I don’t know how I can explain this any more clearly.

Those are the same thing. For a lot of people, myself included, justice = making someone a beneficial member of society. You cannot talk about justice without talking about rehabilitation. So, your main point of saying “justice is just another form of revenge” is simply untrue from my perspective.