William Ian Miller - Eye for An Eye
Cambridge University Press | ISBN: 978 0521856805 | 19/12/2005 | English | 278 pages | PDF | 1 MB
Analyzing the law of the talion–an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth–literally, William Ian Miller presents an original meditation on the concept of "pay back". Miller's unique theory of justice offers redemption via retaliation. It espouses the view that revenge is a highly structured phenomenon that requires a deep commitment to balance in order to get even in a strict but fair manner. As a result, we find that much of what is assumed to be justice, honor and respect is just a way of providing a means of balancing or measuring valuations. Moreover, according to its biblical roots, the law of the talion implies that the value of an eye can only be matched with another eye, suggesting that body parts are to be considered units of valuation.