Magical Overthinkers Overthinking About Revenge
11 snips
Sep 17, 2025 
James Kimmel Jr., a lawyer and Assistant Clinical Professor at Yale, joins Amanda Montell to explore our complex relationship with revenge. They discuss how revenge can feel satisfying yet often leaves us wanting more. Kimmel unveils its similarities to addiction, revealing a cycle of temporary relief and prolonged suffering. They highlight the transformative power of forgiveness and the impact of social media on feelings of victimhood. The conversation flows into mindfulness practices and the potential for personal growth beyond vengeance.
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Evolutionary Roots Of Revenge
- Revenge likely evolved to enforce social norms and deter theft, aiding group survival in early human communities.
- Modern ego wounds trigger the same reward circuits, making petty slights feel as compelling as survival threats.
Revenge Hijacks Reward Circuits
- Perceived injustices activate the brain's pain network and then the reward/craving circuitry, producing a brief dopamine high when we imagine revenge.
- This cycle mirrors addiction: short pleasure, craving, then drive to act unless prefrontal control intervenes.
'Justice' Can Be A Mask For Revenge
- We often relabel revenge as 'justice' to morally justify harming others and to ennoble punitive acts.
- That euphemism lets individuals and nations commit severe retaliatory actions while framing them as righteous.
