Revenge Drives Violence; Focus on the Motive

James summarizes his thesis: grievances activate revenge circuitry, which motivates most violence; focus prevention on that motive.

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Episode notes

Is revenge the root of all forms of violence? Oprah sits down with James Kimmel, Jr., a revenge and violence researcher and lecturer in the psychiatry department at the Yale University School of Medicine and the bestselling author of the eye-opening book, The Science of Revenge: Understanding the World’s Deadliest Addiction - and How to Overcome It. From bullying to school and mass shootings to terrorism and even war, James Kimmel Jr’s 20-year research argues that the root cause of all human aggression and violence in the world is the one universal human emotion: revenge. After being bullied as a teenager, James Kimmel, Jr shares the horrific moment he almost became a mass shooter himself, and why that became the catalyst for his life’s work. James Kimmel Jr shares a research study that could reveal just how prone you might be to seeking revenge. He has also created The Non-Justice System & The Miracle Court App, a 5-step scripted virtual courtroom where a person who has been wronged can play all the roles in a simulated trial - victim, defendant, judge, jury, and warden. Oprah and James Kimmel Jr also hear searing stories from the audience including a woman whose neighbor shot and killed her dog, a woman who got revenge on a boyfriend who cheated on her, a wife and mother whose intense revenge addiction landed her in the hospital. And how a mother, who lost her precious 6-year-old son to gun violence at Sandy Hook Elementary, came to forgive her son’s killer.

BUY THE BOOK!

The Science of Revenge

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/739999/the-science-of-revenge-by-james-kimmel-jr-jd/

https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-science-of-revenge/id6670186929

00:00:00 - Welcome James Kimmel, Jr. author of “The Science of Revenge”

00:04:00 - James Kimmel share his story of revenge

00:10:15 - Lawyers sell revenge to the masses

00:13:15 - How revenge is an addiction

00:16:00 - Understanding how revenge leads to crimes

00:17:30 - When revenge becomes addiction

00:27:00 - Woman shares her desire for revenge

00:28:20 - Types of forgiveness