Answers to losses

Abstract

All societies have their rituals. These are activated at important stages in life; birth and death, passing into woman-or manhood, large victories or defeats, - or when bad acts have been committed. Here punishment or mediation represents typical ritual answers. In my paper I will compare these two types of answers - punishment and mediation. I will look into their strengths and weaknesses as examples of important social rituals, and I will compare these two types of rituals with other fundamental rituals for passing important stages in life. May be we can understand more of both mediation and penal courts by comparing them to funerals and marriages, than as rational tools for facing crime. But the paper is not written yet. May be I will come in severe troubles.