Revenge

Definitions of revenge in the scholarly literature vary, but there is considerable agreement that the phenomenon these definitions are intended to describe is both ubiquitous and universal, appearing repeatedly and frequently throughout human history and across diverse cultures and relationship forms. Indeed, so common are acts of revenge in literature, historical records, and current events that some experts have concluded that the desire for vengeance ranks among the most powerful of human passions.

For purposes of this entry, revenge is defined generically as action that repays harm with harm. Consistent with this definition, Roy Baumeister has argued that, at its core, revenge entails a reversal of roles in which the original perpetrator becomes the victim. Revenge can thus be seen as a perversion of the maxim “do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” in which an individual does unto others what has been done to him or her.

Revenge is often treated in the scholarly literature as if it is the polar opposite of forgiving. There may be reasons to question this viewpoint, however. For example, Everett Worthington has argued that there are a variety of ways to reduce the complexity of negative emotions (which he calls unfor-giveness) that often arises when we experience offense or injury at the hands of another and that forgiving and taking revenge are just two of these. From this perspective, revenge and forgiving share a common identity as responses to interpersonal harm or strategies for reducing unforgiveness. In actuality, research suggests that desires for revenge and the inclination to forgive tend to be inversely related to each other, but that, in itself, does not imply that they need be antithetical to each other. Indeed, under certain circumstances—such as when forgiving is used to demonstrate one's moral superiority over an offender—forgiving may in fact serve vengeful purposes.

Empirical research on revenge is rather limited at this time despite that much has been written about the topic from philosophical and theoretical perspectives. In part, the lack of research in this area may stem from a tendency among scholars to focus their attention on acts of revenge that are extreme and violent. Not only are such extreme acts of revenge less amenable to systematic investigation, but existing research suggests that they may reflect just “the tip of the iceberg.” In everyday life, milder, more mundane acts of revenge may be far more numerous and frequent than extreme acts of revenge.