Spinoza on Why We Rejoice at the Misfortune of Others
Admit it: the good fortune of others is sometimes hard to bear.
Envy is hatred, insofar as it so affects a man that he is pained at another's good fortune and rejoices at another's ill-fortune. - The Ethics, Spinoza
Envy makes the world go round, and as far as Spinoza was concerned it is almost our default emotional state. In his typical manner Spinoza lays out exactly what envy is - pain at another's good fortune, or rejoicing at another's ill-fortune. This emotion is so deeply embedded in most of us that it is difficult to view it in broad daylight - it's just too painful. Admit it: you have been pained by another's good fortune, and you have certainly rejoiced at another's ill-fortune; another word for which is schadenfreude. These are the nasty little things that ferment just below our level of consciousness, or if we are a little more self-honest than most maybe we are aware of them.
The next time you attend a cocktail party (if you can bear such abominations) invent some big porky pie - a lie. Tell someone a big stinking lie about the millions of dollars you made on cryptocurrency or the hundred-acre mansion house you just bought. Just watch the face of this person that has been unfortunate enough to engage you. If their face does not screw up like they had a mouth full of lemon peel, then you are speaking with a very unusual person indeed. Now, remember this person. The next time you bump into them at a cocktail party tell them that your cryptocurrency investment came to naught, and watch the barely disguised delight spread across their face.
As far as Spinoza is concerned envy is what happens when we measure ourselves against others. Either we feel diminished by someone's good fortune, or we feel empowered by someone's bad fortune. Ultimately it's all about power, and specifically the power to persist in our existence. This is what bragging is meant to achieve; to display our superiority to others and convince them that we are doing better in the survival game than they are. It's all nasty stuff, and it's largely unconscious, but nonetheless, this type of thing is the bread and butter of much daily interaction with others.
Oddly enough Spinoza does not condemn any of the emotions, seeing them as no more than natural manifestations that arise from specific circumstances. However if we want to become free of our most troubling emotions, and let's be clear here, emotions such as envy can be extremely painful, then we simply have to be honest enough to see them.
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