PHL277Y5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Master Class, Victims Family
Document Summary
Sometimes after class people ask questions that would have been useful in class. My answer: (note that my answer is just my best shot at the time; it"s part of a discussion that you are welcome to continue. ) Nietzsche does think revenge can happen among the aristocracy. This would be revenge, for nietzsche, because the motive for the retaliation would be a feeling of being wounded. Moreover, nietzsche has no objection to revenge in this case. So really nietzsche does not go against revenge. My answer: he is saying justice and punishment did not originate in revenge. You might think the most primitive and earliest forms of punishment would be acts of revenge. But nietzsche says the origins of justice and punishment lie in the creditor/debtor relationship, not in revenge. If i lend you money, and you can"t pay it back, so i take your daughter instead, my act does not have to be motivated by pain.
