retribution: due for a comeback

It is also true that certain moods or emotions go in and out of fashion with philosophers, just as certain past philosophers do.

One of the obvious examples is melancholia, currently viewed as pathetic and as bordering on a medical condition, though highly respected in France under the Sun King and in certain periods of the Roman Empire.

But another example is retribution, often denounced as revenge. Everyone chants in agreement about how pathetic and ressentiment-laden it is, and think in this way to be a step beyond the vulgar crowd. Nietzsche is often cited as one of the defenders of this view, but that’s a half-truth, since Nietzsche also says not to pretend to be beyond it– if they spit, spit back, etc.

One problem I have with this is that the natural justice-element of retribution is still condescendingly allowed to other cultures, as are many other basic human urges, such as hospitality. I well remember several people I know excusing the Taliban for housing bin Laden by saying that “I’ve heard that hospitality is very important in Afghani culture,” though these same people would be the first to point the finger and shout “Orientalism!” at anyone else who said something similar.