Anger is rational and justified, and its connection to grudges and revenge cannot be cleanly separated. The attempt to purify anger is misguided. As in the book, "Even if someone apologizes or makes up for what they did, the fact that they did something wrong does not change. That’s why anger can last forever."

📖 Explanation:

Even if someone apologizes or makes up for what they did, the fact that they did something wrong does not change. That’s why anger can last forever.

Accoring to author, "Apologies, restitution, and all the rest do nothing to cancel or alter the fact that I stole, nor the fact that I ought not to have stolen."

📖 Explanation:

Even if someone apologizes or repays what they took, the wrong action still happened. Since the past cannot be changed, the reason to be angry remains.

Green: Sub-Claim

Red: Counterpoints

Blue: history background

Purple: Rebuttal

"Angry people sometimes describe their vengeance as ‘teaching someone a lesson,’ and this is quite literally true." (p. 8)

📖 Explanation:

Revenge forces the wrongdoer to experience consequences. It is not just about punishment, but about making them realize their mistake.

"The tendency to cling to anger through apologies and recompense, for years sometimes and to the detriment of all parties concerned, is routinely dismissed as irrational." (p. 7)

📖 Explanation:

Stoics and Nussbaum say anger is useless because it does not fix anything. They think we should focus on preventing future harm instead of staying angry.

"Inhibiting any and all anger in the face of genuine wrongdoing is acquiescing in evil." (p. 13)

📖 Explanation:

Pacifists argue that anger leads to more violence, so it is better to forgive and move forward. They believe anger only causes harm.

"Suppose one day, out of nowhere, you simply decide to set your anger aside, and you succeed... It hasn’t been [addressed], and it won’t ever be." (p. 7)

📖 Explanation:

Just deciding to move on does not erase what happened. The wrong action still exists, so the anger still makes sense.

"Victims of injustice are not as innocent as we like to believe. Either they hold onto anger, or they allow themselves to be morally compromised by acceptance." (p. 13)

📖 Explanation:

If people never get angry, they might accept injustice. Anger can be a way to fight back against unfairness.

"Modern morality originates from grudges." (p. 10)

📖 Explanation:

Nietzsche says moral rules were created by oppressed people who held grudges against their oppressors.

"Punishment systems are hidden forms of revenge." (p. 11)

📖 Explanation:

Foucault argues that justice systems are just structured revenge. Society never really eliminates anger—it just controls it.