James Kimmel Jr. (Harmony Books)
Few people may readily own up to thirsting for revenge 鈥� yet it is undeniable that some of us do.
From US President Donald Trump鈥檚 on score-settling to the 鈥渃ancel culture鈥� of policing on social media, and maybe even the of the iconic Sycamore Gap tree in the UK 鈥� possibly an attempt at payback due to one of those found guilty being at risk of eviction 鈥� revenge may be more plausible than love as the force that makes the world turn. Could we even go so far as to call it an addiction?
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James Kimmel Jr. argues passionately that we can 鈥� and we must, if the world is ever to become a more compassionate place. His new book The Science of Revenge: Understanding the world鈥檚 deadliest addiction 鈥� and how to overcome it reflects his efforts, over more than a decade, to improve our understanding of the neurology driving revenge and to recognise its deadly toll.
You can鈥檛 deny Kimmel鈥檚 credentials: he is a at Yale University, where he into motive control, and a lawyer. As a former civil litigator, resolving non-criminal disputes, he saw how the law could be abused to progress personal grievances and punish perceived enemies, especially by the wealthy and powerful.
He also understood the impulse, he writes. Growing up in rural Pennsylvania in the early 1980s, he was bullied and his family intimidated. Their dog was even shot dead. After their mailbox was blown up, the teenage Kimmel ended up pulling a gun on his tormentors 鈥� but not the trigger.
Still, Kimmel writes, his unresolved grievances ended up leading him into law 鈥� 鈥渢he professional revenge business鈥�. After a mental breakdown, he began researching his pet theory of 鈥渞evenge addiction鈥�, pivoting to psychiatry to progress it.
Today, Kimmel points to himself as a 鈥渞ecovering revenge addict鈥�, as well as to years of scientific inquiry, to make the case for 鈥渃ompulsive revenge seeking鈥� to be understood as an addiction and a brain disease.
Kimmel says the desire for revenge registers in some people's brains in much the same way as narcotics
He argues that the desire for revenge registers in the brains of some individuals in much the same way as narcotics, activating cravings, overriding impulse controls and 鈥渟atisfying the same brain-biological desire for relief of pain and hedonic reward鈥�.
If borne out, writes Kimmel, this idea could not only explain 鈥渢he desire to hurt and kill鈥�, but also present a possible path for preventing violence. He suggests that by identifying people with a tendency to feel victimised, nurse perceived grievances and ruminate on retaliation, it may be possible to stop mass shootings and other deadly outbursts in their tracks.
To make his case, he references much credible research about reward, revenge and forgiveness. He is up front about the limits of their application or relevance to his concept of revenge addiction, and includes sceptical expert voices alongside those who agree there may be something to it.
However, his eagerness to credit revenge as the cause of 鈥渁ll the wars, murders, and physical and psychological assaults throughout human history鈥� may put readers off as much as it persuades them.
Kimmel doesn鈥檛 deny the relevance of 鈥済enetic factors, early trauma, or psychosocial and environmental circumstances鈥�, and says revenge addiction isn鈥檛 intended to excuse people who commit violent crimes. But that is often the impression he creates, such as when he likens experiencing a bout of potentially murderous 鈥渞evenge cravings鈥� to a heart attack.
This is both confusing and clumsy. Kimmel is most compelling when he tells the stories of people who escaped lives shaped by hate, such as a former Ku Klux Klansman who now helps others. But his fixation on revenge as the root of all evil risks pushing nuance and other contributing factors (such as misogyny or childhood sexual abuse) to the side.
His analyses of mass murderers鈥� manifestos and the psychologies of Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong via the narrow (at best) lens of revenge addiction sit particularly uncomfortably. Revenge may be under-acknowledged as a motivating force throughout history, but Kimmel may be too close to his subject.
Elle Hunt is a writer based in聽Norwich,聽UK
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