envy

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The envy of
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Envy describes the desire of the envious person to dispose of goods (material or immaterial) that are perceived as at least equivalent to the envied person.

Definition of terms: constructive and destructive envy - resentment - sense of justice

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Envy comes in two forms:

  • the desire of the envious person to obtain goods that are perceived as equivalent and for which the envied person is envied ( constructive envy )
  • the wish that the envied person loses the goods for which they are envied (destructive envy , also resentment ) . Alternatively, the envious person can develop the desire for other harm for the envied person.

In the public reception of the term, the focus is generally on the meaning of destructive envy, i.e. resentment, which gives the actually neutral term envy a predominantly negative connotation. The envious person is thus assumed that his envy can also be satisfied by the fact that the envied person loses the envied goods or suffers other damage.

A second dimension of the term envy, which is very present in the public reception of the term, is that its use assumes that the wish of the envious person is not justified, i.e. ultimately only selfishly motivated. This distinguishes it from the concept of the sense of justice .

When using the term envy, it must therefore always be critically questioned whether it is not being used by the favored side to discredit the disadvantaged side's sense of justice in the sense of a fighting term in the sense of: “Envy is the evil word that the rich use for the sense of justice of the poor. "

An example of this is the designation of emancipatory movements (historically e.g. the labor movement ) as envy instead of a sense of justice. In terms of the main meaning of the term envy, this is correct, but the connotation of the non-justification of the demand, as well as the often unspoken implication of destructive envy (generally consciously), leads to a denigration of the addressee and thus makes the demand for one social compensation as selfish, reprehensible and thus illegitimate .

From a psychological point of view, both constructive and destructive envy result from a person's need to maximize their self-worth and improve their relative position in the social hierarchy. Psychological studies and investigations into envy, therefore, often refer to Abraham Tesser's theory of maintaining self- assessment and Leon Festinger's theory of social comparison .

Destructive envy: reception and consequences

The envy (allegorical painting by Giotto , around 1300)

Of the two forms of envy - destructive and constructive - only destructive envy is considered ethically / morally reprehensible.

This is particularly the case because this is associated with resentment and thus generally (term-constituting) destructive emotions or actions, such as B. hatred , glee , denunciation , betrayal , sabotage , defamation and in the last instance can even be dangerous for the envied.

Destructive envy is often concealed or denied, as it means an admission of inferiority to the envied person.

“Envy arises from weakness, faint-heartedness , lack of self-confidence , self-perceived inferiority and exaggerated ambition , which is why the envious hides his ugly character trait with shame. He loudly refuses to imitate the envied. [...] if he gets upset, the envious enjoys quiet glee. "

- Götz Aly

Constructive envy: reception and consequences

Constructive envy is considered a neutral emotion because it does not result in destructive emotions or actions. An admission of constructive envy tends to be received as a sign of inner greatness.

Constructive envy can mean two things:

  • Benevolent, consciously expressed recognition of the benefit of the envied person. This is especially possible with a fundamentally positive attitude towards the envied person. There is generally no intention of eliminating inequality, in many cases because it is futile.
An example of this situation is a grandfather who envies his granddaughter for her youth, health and light-heartedness. He does not grudge her these conditions and would not want to take them away from her if that were possible. He even enjoys it. But he would say that he envy her for it, because he would also like to be so young, healthy and carefree again.
  • Efforts on the part of the envious to obtain the envied goods themselves. This generally motivates to increase performance and is therefore an advantage within the framework of a market economy company . Here envy shows itself as ambition to want to (also) achieve a good.

Envy in sociology and behavioral studies

One child is envious of the other child's possession of marbles

Gustav Ratzenhofer already stated in 1899 that “bread envy” was a fundamental social drive (“primal force”). Helmut Schoeck then declared envy to be the key term in sociology . He was convinced that only the fear of the destructive envy of others would make it possible to live together in larger groups. People try to protect themselves from this envy, among other things by sharing their belongings with one another. So the envy of the gods was tried to be appeased with offerings.

In his standard work, Der Neid und die Gesellschaft , published in 1966, Schoeck postulated that no other motive generates as much conformity as the fear of arousing envy in others and of being ostracized for it. It was only through the ability to control each other through suspicion of envy that the formation of groups with different tasks became socially possible. The French psychiatrist François Lelord also stated that envy is an important mechanism in the coexistence of groups.

As a more colloquial term, “social envy” describes the envy in a social milieu of a - even supposedly - better off group ( reference group ). It relates to privileges (such as power or pleasure). Aristotle already postulated a just envy of unequal distribution of goods. The psychoanalyst Rolf Haubl differentiates between negative, hostile-damaging and depressive-paralyzing and positive, ambitious-stimulating and indignant-outrageous envy, which stimulates a sense of justice and urges change. The writer Hartmut El Kurdi has his own perspective: In the decades from 1990 to 2020, the “social envy of the villa districts” was politically effective in Germany. Because if you look at the decline of the public sector and the simultaneous increase in private wealth since the nineties, it becomes clear “why the libraries and district baths had to be closed. Because the "high earners" couldn't stand the fact that there were a few things that belonged not only to them, but to everyone. "

Studies with capuchin monkeys led by Frans de Waal at Emory University showed a refusal to behave in disadvantaged animals in behavioral biology . The researchers played with the monkeys and rewarded them with various treats. For example, if the researchers offered one animal delicious grapes and the other only a piece of cucumber, the latter refused to cooperate in the game.

A research team led by the Bonn neuroeconomist Armin Falk compared the brain activity of human subjects in experiments under a magnetic resonance tomograph . He sees evidence for his thesis that people always see rewards in comparison.

The Zurich economist Ernst Fehr takes the view that a mild form of envy is a basic human need. Research in this regard shows that people prefer modest financial circumstances if these are at least not significantly different from those of other people and a higher income for them would only be associated with a significantly higher income of others. According to Fehr, this envy-induced drive ends abruptly when the previously envied position of the better-off is achieved; the position achieved is now defended against others and perceived as satisfactory. The feeling of envy serves primarily only to satisfy one's own egoistic needs and less to an all-encompassing desire for justice . Envy in the form of resenting the betterment of others with simultaneous desire for the same status for oneself thus meets the criteria of double standards .

The historian Götz Aly sees envy as one of the main reasons for the particularly strong rise in anti-Semitism in Germany:

“The Christian Germans, who were much slower in their development, envied the Jews for their cosmopolitanism, urbanity and comprehension, for their commercial skills and their education. In an overview of the situation of the Israelite minority in 1848, it was stated: "It is the partial wealth and particular livelihood of the Jews that draws the attacks of these classes on their necks, which feel disadvantaged by such busyness."

- Götz Aly

Economists Daniel Zizzo and Andrew Oswald from the University of Warwick demonstrated in a computer-simulated game of chance that almost two-thirds of all participants made use of the option to use part of their winnings to harm others financially, even though they lost half of the winnings paid out . In connection with the publication of the results in 2001, Zizzo and Oswald wrote: "Our experiments measure the dark side of human nature."

Envy is a factor in (survival) and evolution . Animals sometimes also envy each other: feed envy or envy of mating partners, nesting sites, jewelry (feathers) etc. However, animals do not grudge each other - at least not according to current knowledge. Human envy differs from this in that we are mostly aware of what makes it no longer a mere instinct but an emotion .

psychiatry

The psychiatry knows excessive envy as a symptom of certain forms of narcissistic personality disorder .

Evaluation of envy in religions

In the Bible , envy is condemned in several places, for example Rom 1.29  EU , 1 Tim 6.4  EU , Tit 3.3  EU , 1 Petr 2.1  EU , Jak 3.14 + 16  EU , Gal 5.21  EU . The biblical story of Cain and Abel , in which envy is a motive for murder, is best known ; or the parable of the workers in the vineyard . Envy has been one of the seven main sins (see also the definition of deadly sins ) of the Roman Catholic Church since the late 6th century .

In Hinduism , social inequality is presented as a result of individual spiritual karma and envy is merely presented as the unaccepted karma or fate that opposes the world of castes . After that, only a spiritual-esoteric ascent can take place after recognizing one's own karma, which brings one to a higher caste after a later rebirth, or entirely in the hereafter. As an anti-envy concept, Hinduism is very popular among those less disadvantaged by karma and thus defines the majority of the world of 850 million Hindus.

In Islam , envy is mentioned in the Koran. It is a matter of defeating it as a bad quality and starting with yourself. According to the Prophet Muhammad, envy can lead to calamity and even death. There are protective verses and supplications that, with God's help, protect against an envious person.

Others

So-called envious heads , usually attached to gables, should, according to popular belief, ward off harm and evil. The evil forces and spirits should not envy the people in the buildings covered with them and should not turn them against the residents.

The color yellow stands for envy, among other things.

See also

literature

  • Joseph Epstein : Envy. The worst mortal sin (=  Wagenbach's pocket library . Volume 650 ). Wagenbach, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-8031-2650-4 (English: Envy . Translated by Matthias Wolf).
  • Rolf Haubl : Only the others are envious. About the inability to be satisfied . 1st edition. Beck, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-59214-0 .
  • François Lelord : The power of emotions and how they determine our everyday life. Piper-Verlag, Munich et al. 2006, ISBN 3-492-24631-1 .
  • Olaf Lippke: anatomy of envy. WiKu-Verlag, Duisburg 2006, ISBN 3-86553-179-2 .
  • Gonzales Fernandez de la Mora : The equalizing envy. Matthes & Seitz, Munich 1987.
  • Rainer Paris : Envy. To the politics of a feeling. In: Mercury. 2006, pp. 1046-1060.
  • Rainer Paris: Envy. The power of a hidden feeling . Manuscriptum, Waltrop 2010, ISBN 978-3-937801-54-4 (Edition Sonderwege at Manuscriptum).
  • Helmut Schoeck : The envy. A theory of society. 2nd Edition. Herder, Freiburg 1968.
  • Gerhard Schwarz (Ed.): Neidökonomie. Economic aspects of a vice . NZZ-Verlag, Zurich 2000, ISBN 3-85823-859-7 .
  • Ingrid Vendrell Ferran: About envy. A phenomenological study. In: German magazine for philosophy. 1, 54, 2006, ISSN  0012-1045 , pp. 43-69.
  • Ute Wahner: Envy. How important are threats to self-worth and experiencing injustice? In: Barbara Reichle, Manfred Schmitt (ed.): Responsibility, Justice and Morality. For the psychological understanding of ethical aspects in human behavior. Juventa, Weinheim / Munich 1998, ISBN 3-7799-1380-1 , pp. 149-162.

Web links

Wikiquote: Envy  - Quotes
Wiktionary: Envy  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ envy. In: German dictionary .
  2. ^ Richard H. Smith, Sung Hee Kim: Comprehending envy . In: Psychological Bulletin . tape 133 , no. 1 , p. 46-64 , doi : 10.1037 / 0033-2909.133.1.46 ( apa.org [accessed November 6, 2017]).
  3. ↑ a b Götz Aly: On the ground of envy. Essay. In: Der Spiegel . 31/2011.
  4. ↑ Gustav Ratzenhofer: The positive monism and the unified principle of all phenomena. Brockhaus, Leipzig 1899.
  5. ↑ Helmut Schoeck: The envy. A theory of society. 2nd Edition. Freiburg 1968.
  6. ↑ The envy factor. In: Focus. August 20, 2008.
  7. ↑ Werner Mathes: Envious eyes are insatiable. In: Stern. November 9, 2007.
  8. ↑ Hartmut El Kurdi: Column in taz.de May 27, 2020 [1]
  9. ↑ Mixed feelings: envy - living together thanks to envy. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . August 3, 2010.
  10. ↑ Mixed feelings: envy - having more than the other. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. August 3, 2010.
  11. ↑ Inclination to double standards. In: Focus. December 1, 2008.
  12. ↑ Mixed feelings: Envy - The only deadly sin that is not fun. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. August 3, 2010.
  13. ↑ T. El Sehity: The price of success. Sketches on the psychology of wealth and money. In: T. Druyen (Ed.): Responsibility and Probation: Family Business in Switzerland. A wealth culture study. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2012, pp. 160–196.
  14. ↑ A waste of mental energy. on: Deutschlandradio Kultur . October 26, 2010. (Review of Joseph Epstein: Neid. Verlag Klaus Wagenbach, 2010.)