Capacity for forgiveness is perhaps the defining virtue of mediocrity. Notice how implacable revenge seekers are excellent and/or power hungry types? Holding a grudge is a kind of optimization. Moving on is mediocritization.
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That's a questionable virtue. You could argue that the capacity for forgiveness increases evil more than anything.
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They say that there are two types of actions; aggression and love. While I agree that revenge (aggression) is an exertion of power for those that see vantage in it, forgiveness (love) is equally as powerful — just a different kind of power creating a different path of causality.
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This book makes a nice argument for the adaptiveness of both revenge *and* forgiveness:
amazon.com/Beyond-Revenge
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I would disagree. Forgiveness is the strategy of those whose aims do not include the instant soothing of one's ego and who can use reputation as a diplomatic weapon. AFAIK Cyrus, Julius Caesar and Napoleon were not mediocre nor did they forsake power, but all employed forgiveness
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canonical counterexample is Jesus Christ, whose message of forgiveness and love has spead to 2 billion souls







