What is the difference between justice and revenge?

Partly, it's the fact of a neutral party deciding what the punishment is, rather than you doing what you feel like. Partly, it's the fact that the punishment is decided by the society as a whole, rather than you doing what you feel like. Partly, it's the difference between civilisation and anarchy. Mostly, it pays lawyers.

I think we're also forgetting the fact that the sentence meted out under the heading 'Justice' is normally fair and proportionate and also stated publicly what it will be before the act has been comitted. Revenge however, isn't necessarily proportionate or fair - as the person involved is normally taken away in the heat of the moment and ends up going too far with their own version of 'Justice'. Revenge is wrong because it brings that person down to the same level as the original perpetrator (and usually involves violent retribution against the perpetrator). Justice, normally involves a custodial sentence, during which there is a chance of rehabilitation, which can't be said for revenge.

" Revenge is at the heart of justice." this is a line from a movie I once saw. I agree with it. Both are ways to right a wrong. Justice is more noble . But for me revenge is more fun.

The emotion is what is different. Revenge is committed based on emotional response. Justice is payment to society for breaking a rule. Society is based on rules and unless these are enforced the society will fall apart. In fact it is one of the first signs of destruction in a society when the rules are not kept by all, this is why the payment is so steep. In our present Western society different classes of people have different payment for rule breaking. This is one reason why our communication is now changing the world. The difference between the classes has been if not accepted at least overlooked, but now that the whole world can see what is going on justice is changing quickly.

One major difference is the intention with which both are carried out. Justice is usually done to teach the wrong doer a lesson. To make him/her a better person ones he/she has served the decided punishment while revenge is to do bad to the wrong doer. While taking revenge you want to hurt the offensive party as much as you were hurt by the bad act that was done to you. Also, Justice follows rules while revenge don't.

Personally, I see them in the same category of twistedness. Revenge is pure in its intention of exacting punishment, although its primitive and full of malice, to whom it is believed to have done the crime. While, Justice on the other hand, is a offering two paths to the accused. Guilty or not guilty, depending on how good the lawyer is.

To me, justice is mending the situation as much as possible, while revenge is a malicious action. Justice is helping the victims of a situation, while revenge is punishing those who are responsible for, or are perceived to be responsible for, something. Justice is discernment, while revenge is judgement. Justice is fairness, while revenge is quite biased. And I don't believe that the "justice" system, is always in favor of justice. I don't believe that there is any one person, or any group of people, that by title or status is given some right to decide what is just. I am not sure that any person can enact justice. If there is a wrong-doing and anyone takes it into their hands, at least by majority, they are acting out of revenge, because all humans are subject to bias. I do not believe that any of us have the right to "play God." Personally, I do not believe in any higher power and so I believe that justice is something acted out by karma. Karma is not a punish-reward system as is commonly mistaken, but rather just a balancing force. Karma does not judge what is right or wrong. Karma just keeps the balance of energy. It holds no bias. Balance is fairness. Balance is justice.

I assume justice as more like getting what someone has... like an equal advantage. But for revenge I see it as more like getting back at someone a disadvantage. But the core is pretty much the same.

I think revenge is something personal; an act carried out in retaliation with the aim of causing the recipient to suffer. Justice, on the other hand, is more ensuring that the punishment or result of a wrongdoing is fair and "just". Revenge tends to be more passionate whereas justice is more about fairness and the punishment fitting the crime. Birdie -

Now here's a touchy one...They are the same. I don't see much difference in them at all. You raise a good point here.

As I am reading the responses in your discussion, I could not help but realize that both justice and revenge are both blind but strives for the same thing - getting even or getting things back in the status quo. Perhaps the only difference is the mediation - since justice requires representation of persons and opinion of peers (the jury). On the other hand, revenge only cares about one side of the parties involved. I'm not a lawyer and anything I know of the justice system is from TV (thank you Law and Order and your spin-offs as well as CSIs). But as little as I know about law loopholes and such, justice is not perfect as we know it, as innocent people can be incarcerated by very persuasive lawyers and often circumstantial motives and evidences. Sometimes, revenge is born out of the shortcomings of the justice system. The system just wants to have a resolution of the case, and whether justice is being served correctly is always a lingering question. I guess one benefit of the system is that it tries to address everyone and make people equal under the law. Though the law is not perfect, it's not an excuse to restore order and peace to the party. Thinking about it, both parties are victims since one aspects of their lives is going to be drastically hurt in the process (unless it is really clear cut like in the cases of tyrants and dictators). I cannot say that justice is right or revenge is wrong. It depends who who ask and what the situation is. Sounds corny but its a case to case basis. I guess that's the reason why we have trial by publicity. As a people, society and individuals, we have our sense of justice, even though we operate under a system. We know instinctively in our persons what for us is right and what is wrong. God, I sound just like a lawyer.

We see justice as the right choice because it is based on a majority consensus on what is a moral punishment or not. The society are the ones who lay down the laws and with this we see justice as a manifestation of the total moralistic view of the group. So if a burglar tried to steal from you and got caught. To you it may seem right to cut of his hands so that he won't steal again (revenge). But since there are laws laid about, this particular crime is punishable by imprisonment and fines. Justice does not only protect the society but the humanity aspect of the people wherein every punishment is geared towards reformation and respecting also the humanity of the criminal. To put it in a simple way, justice is brought about by culture, without it we would revert back to being barbarians wherein the only justice we know is the Hamurabi Code.

I think that revenge is often something that is acted in a manner that is very uncontrolled and full of emotion. It is also like one is taking the law into your own hands - yes, you may feel that someone deserves to be punished for what they did, but it is far safer and fairer to allow someone who is objective, and is not swayed by emotion, to give them a fair punishment, that fits their crime.

Sometimes, we are not contented with the justice that is being served because it may lack evidence or the accusation is not that heavy, revenge is then resorted by some. oh, well as seen on the movies. But I think in our country code, I am not satisfied with the justification here, unlike in the US where everything is black and white and easy no matter how hard it may seem for us. They are so brilliant for investigations. Back to the main question between revenge and justice, revenge is subjective and personal while justice is objective and society's ground for such crime or grievances.

The most important difference, is that Justice is concerned with establishing the guilt or innocence of the accused and in revenge guilt is assumed. It has been suggested here that philosophically justice is organised revenge, that is untrue or at least it is misleading because it omits much of what justice is. Firstly, the concept of justice is linked to the concept of fairness. We, as humans, have a notion of fairness, that is to say even-handedness. Aristotle observes that justice is a virtue. Someone who is capricious, demanding more from others than they themselves are prepared to give is unjust. Imagine if I have 2 children and I lavish love and affection on one and treat the other harshly and cruelly, who could say I was just? Concepts of justice in a society are a development of such individual notions all the best urban

revenge is something done without the rule of law. justice is the rule of law, as it should be. but there are times, the revenger put justice on their own.

justice you are allowing the law to do what need to be done which is often right. revenge you just go and whip some azz without thinking

Revenge is mostly not done after the law and orders. It is done after what the circumstances cause the people who are going to do the revenge. However it can likely be a person who knows the laws and do it properly as an action of revenge. Justice is when a group of people and a judge make the decision what the consequence should be of punishment.

One difference in a well-defined justice system is that the accused and the accuser stand equally (at least theoretically) before the law, although their lawyers or advocates may have different abilities. Woe to him/her who has a less able advocate. At any rate, the wronged party can always appeal. That's another difference. In revenge, there is no appeal. Still another difference is that there is a due process in a well-defined justice system. And the due process, because it grinds along rather slowly, also serves to cool down the passions and emotions of all parties and make them reflect on what really happened and why. Further difference is the determination of the degree of wrongness, and the determination of the corresponding punishment. In this determination, there is also the consideration of mitigating circumstances. In revenge, there is only white against black, and white has to wipe out black. And in the quest for justice, there is a separation of roles of the accuser, judge, and executioner. In revenge, the accuser, the judge, and the executioner are one.

revenge is to satisfy one's self while justice is to satisfy the society