31.12.2013 |
blog categorie(s) - Big Questions in Society
written by Wilco van Dijk
Why do we sometimes enjoy the misfortune of others?
keywords:
misfortune / schadenfreude / emotion / envy / self-enhancement
Why do we sometimes enjoy the misfortune of others?
Have you ever been in a situation where you couldn’t resist a little smile when someone else had a setback? Have you ever experienced joy when another person suffered a mishap? We’ve all probably been in that situation and we’ve all felt that joy. The German language coined the word Schadenfreude—a compound word of the German words 'Schaden' meaning 'harm' and 'Freude' meaning 'joy'—for the pleasure at the misfortunes of others and nowadays it is used as a... / more