Have you not, on certain occasions, felt a tinge of pleasure when you hear some bad news or misfortunes happening to your friends or even family members?
The French philosopher, Francois de La Rochefoucauld once wrote :
"In the misfortunes of even our greatest friends, we take a certain pleasure."
This is part of our human nature, that we are apt to experience a tinge of satisfaction or pleasure whenever we hear about the failures, misfortunes and humiliations of others - even those that are close to us whom we bear no ill will.
Why is that so?
Part of it is because of our own individual egos, that celebrate the fact that other people who took a risk had failed, some times spectacularly.
Our ego, safe in its comfort zone of familiarity, does not like other people who push their limits to achieve something better. It jars us that we are not moving beyond our comfort zone. It holds up a mirror to our adversity to risks.
Therefore, when these people fails in their new endeavors, our hearts make a small leap of happiness. We privately gloat over the failures of others. Some even go to the extend to spreading the "good" news around the neighbourhood to bring more shame to these risk-takers.
The German's have a word to describe this - "Schadenfreude" ie, "shameful joy", pleasure derived from others' misfortunes.
A related emotion consists of deriving sorrow from others' good fortune - this is "Freudenschade".
The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche offer a possible insight on schadenfreude in his 1882 work, The Gay Science :
"Schadenfreude originates in the fact, that in certain respects of which he is aware, everyone feels unwell - is oppressed by care, envy or sorrow. The harm that befalls another man makes him our equal and it appeases our envy."
"If, on the other hand, he happens to feel perfectly well, he nonetheless gathers up his neighbour's misfortune in his consciousness as a capital upon which to draw when he himself faces misfortunes - thus he too experiences schadenfreude."
Usually, it is people who suffers from low self-esteem, who are more likely to experience schadenfreude than people who has more self-love. It is even felt more intensely when it is directed at those people that they envy most.
However, we must guard against having such feelings.
There is nothing good in feeling schadenfreude. In fact, you should reflect deeply on yourself and search within your ego why you have these feelings and work towards eliminating it or addressing those issues that are buried deep within you.
"To feel envy is human, to savour schadenfreude is devilish."
- German philosopher Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860).
- German philosopher Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860).
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