The desire for revenge exists both in personal relationships and in relations between groups and states. In this lecture, Arne Johan Vetlesen takes a closer look at the arguments used to justify revenge and discusses them critically: Are they tenable? Does revenge - or the desire for revenge - play a greater role in politics and social life today than in the past? Are emotions getting the better of us?
Arne Johan Vetlesen is a professor of philosophy at the University of Oslo, specialising in ethics, political theory and environmental philosophy. He is an active social commentator, a regular columnist for Klassekampen and the author of over 30 books.