Is there violence without moral aggression?

Abstract

The article submits that it is not adequate to classify as violence acts of aggression that do not carry a moral component. Despite having an eminently symbolic and immaterial character, such moral component would carry a much greater objectivity as an expression of violence than a physical aggression in the strict sense of the term. Moral aggressions are then defined as an insult, which convey two basic characteristics: (1) it is an objective injury to rights, which cannot be adequately translated into material evidence; and, (2) it always implies some devaluation or negation of the identity of the interlocutor. The paper also addresses the difficulties of the judiciary in dealing with such aggressions where positive law prevails, producing discontentment among the parties and often aggravating the conflict.

Violence; Moral aggression; Insult; Rights; Identity