Although most of us are uncomfortable admitting it, we often feel Schadenfreude, that is, pleasure for the misfortunes of others, because we can directly or indirectly take advantage of that misfortune.
In Schadenfreude. Bliss for the evil of others, Richard H. Smith it delves into the mechanisms underlying this pleasure for the displeasure of others, as well as all the ramifications that emerge from that feeling. A book that, although it may be monothematic, is dotted with curious stories and everyday examples (or series and movies, especially The Simpsons).
They / Us
The book is one of the best I have read in 2020, I have to admit. And it is also very easy to read and opens the doors to many reflections, such as the current polarization and political partisanship, that is, the exacerbation of tribalism, from Them VS Us.
As a sample, a button: entries that have been inspired by fragments of the book:
Schadenfreude is a German word for the feeling of joy or satisfaction generated by the suffering, unhappiness or humiliation of another. The term in Spanish translates as regodearse O regodeo, defined by the RAE as maliciously indulging in a mishap, trouble, etc., that happens to another person.
Schadenfreude: Bliss for the evil of others: and the dark side of human nature (The pocket book – Social Sciences)
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“Schadenfreude: Bliss for the evil of others” sheds light on one of the most widespread and least recognized emotions of our society, namely, the secret (or express) satisfaction or joy that we experience when seeing someone powerful fall, someone sink person, company or institution to whom we have animosity, or witness the misfortune of someone whom we judge unfairly well treated by fortune. Richard H. Smith, Professor of Psychology at the University of Kentucky and one of the leading specialists in “bad” or “dark” emotions, such as envy, popular culture (such as well-known television series), daily life, history, etc. , with a rigorous scientific approach, to make us see, however disturbing it may be at times, that there is no “bad” and “good” in the absolute sense, but that in the plane of our psyche everything is related and has a powerful reason for being .
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