Reply #13: These basically summarize my view

[mazzarro]

I found these online and they are more or less what I am in agreement with on this issue.

http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/drivingissues/1127331115.html
David J. Hanson, Ph.D.
Revenge or vengeance is retaliation against a person or group in response to perceived wrongdoing.
Although revenge may superficially resemble the concept of making things equal, revenge usually has a more injurious than constructive goal. It involves the vengeful wish to make the other side go through what one went through or otherwise to suffer severely.

www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-17168.html
FZ+ 03-27-2004, 11:30 AM
Justice: Quality of being righteous. The law.
Whose law? What is seen as fair and just by one party is not just to the other. We usually require justice to fit a number of criteria:
1. Closure. Justice should be final, without a repeating cycle of vengeance.
2. Healing. Similarly, justice should result in something positive overall.
3. Deterrence. Something to encourage the event never to happen again.
4. Order. Justice should be according to a set code - there must be consistency and reliability to justice.

Stevo 04-08-2004, 11:59 AM
Traditionally, we have the following motivation for punishment of criminals:

1: Deter other would be criminals.
2: Rehabilitate the offender.
3: Keep society safe by removing criminals.
4: Satisfy psychological needs of the victim.

Yes, justice is about being righteous, and is the law. That's begging the question.

Justice is an artificial concept in the sense that it is a concept of humanity. But it is natural in the sense that it grew out of the need for survival and social order. Ultimately, justice is defined by its function, not by what it should be.