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Abstract: This article considers the degree to which certain moral and legal doctrines are rooted in specific passions and the degree to which a philosophical examination of those passions will have a bearing on an evaluation of the doctrines that they in part generate and for which these doctrines in part serve as rationalizations. Criminal law, generally, institutionalizes certain feelings of anger and hatred that we typically direct toward wrongdoers. This is called the retributive emotions. This view, however, is countered by the view of compassion, mercy and forgiveness. This article assumes that some of these emotional tensions represent intellectual tensions, and therefore a distinction can be made between doctrine and underlying belief. This article considers when hatred toward wrongdoers is appropriate, when that hatred should be overcome by forgiveness and mercy, and what role these should play in the law.
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