Will the Eumenides be Able to Conjure the Erinias?

Authors

  • Graciela Vidiella Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina). Universidad Nacional de Quilmes (Argentina) https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7893-5510

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.48162/rev.100.041

Keywords:

Righteous anger, Revolutionary violence, Doctrine of double effect, Rawlsian egalitarianism, Deliberative democracy

Abstract

The fundamental thesis underlying Lariguet’s book is that liberalism has sought to dominate strong emotions too much, so that it ends up not only being functional to the status quo but can become its own gravedigger. Given this, the author argues that democracy should accept certain forms of righteous anger, originating in flagrant injustices. Anger could drive struggles aimed at modifying the state of affairs towards a more just one.

Lariguet proposes the doctrine of double effect to endorse revolutionary anger, which always entails violence. In this article, I try to show that this principle cannot be applied to revolutionary violence since it does not meet two requirements present in its justification: respecting the condition of proportionality between the harm caused and the good pursued, and minimizing the harm.

Author Biography

Graciela Vidiella, Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina). Universidad Nacional de Quilmes (Argentina)

She holds a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Buenos Aires. She was a tenured professor of Ethics at the National University of the Littoral and taught the same subject at the Universities of Buenos Aires and La Plata. She is the author of *The Right to Health* and co-author of *A Brief Guide to Ethics*, as well as articles in specialized journals and compilations on distributive justice, democratic theory, and emotions and practical rationality.

References

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LARIGUET, Guillermo. Dilemas en la moral, la ética y el derecho. Montevideo–Buenos Aires: Editorial B de F., 2018.

LARIGUET, Guillermo. La ética frente al espejo: Ensayos sobre filosofía moral, literatura y derecho. Valencia: Tirant lo Blanch, 2020.

LARIGUET, Guillermo. El odio y la ira: Furias desatadas en la democracia actual. Rosario: Prohistoria, 2023.

MCINTYRE, Alison. “Doctrine of Double Effect” [en línea]. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2023 Edition), Edward N. Zalta y Uri Nodelman (ed.). Disponible en: https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2023/entries/double-effect/.

NAGEL, Thomas. War and Massacre. Philosophy and Public Affairs. 1972, vol. 1, n.º 2, pp. 123–144.

RAWLS, John. Una teoría de la justicia. Traducción de María Dolores González. México D. F.: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1978.

SARTRE, Jean–Paul. El ser y la nada. Traducción de Juan Valmar. 4.ª ed. Buenos Aires: Losada, 1976.

SMITH, Adam. La teoría de los sentimientos morales. Traducción de Carlos Rodríguez Braun. 2.ª ed. Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 2009.

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Published

2026-05-27

How to Cite

Vidiella, G. (2026). Will the Eumenides be Able to Conjure the Erinias?. República Y Derecho, 11(11), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.48162/rev.100.041

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 11 (2026): Dossier: Reflections on Hatred and Anger: Unleashed Furies in Today's Democracy, by Guillermo Lariguet

Section

Dossier

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Copyright (c) 2026 Graciela Vidiella

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