Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Envy: Envy is a feeling of discontent or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or achievements. It is often accompanied by feelings of jealousy, bitterness, and inadequacy._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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John Rawls on Envy - Dictionary of Arguments
I 530 Envy/Psychology/Society/Justice/Rawls: We assume that people are not influenced by psychological tendencies in the initial situation of a society to be built (in which no one knows their future position). >Veil of ignorance. I 531 Psychology: only comes into consideration at a later stage. Envy can become a problem if the social differences have become very large due to the difference principle. >Difference Principle/Rawls. I 532 Envy: we refer to interpersonal comparisons in the use of objective primary goods (e. g. freedoms, income, prosperity). The hostile observation of the larger shares of others would then be envy, even if these differences do not imply any reduction of our own shares. Those who notice the envy of others may develop a fear of attack. Thus, envy reduces the benefits of all members of the community. A jealous person could also be tempted to take actions that make all those involved look worse, only to reduce the discrepancy with the better frames. Kant calls the envy therefore a vice of misanthropy (cf. I. Kant, The Metaphysics of Morals, p. II, § 36). I 533 Since envy is not a moral feeling, we do not need a moral principle to explain it. It is sufficient to note that the better situation of others attracts our attention. Def Envy/Rawls: On the other hand, it is a moral feeling. It arises when we think that the reason why we have less than others, is either the result of unjust institutions or a misconduct on the part of the better-offs. Those who display resentment must be prepared to justify it and show why certain institutions of society work to their disadvantage or that others have cheated on them. Envy: differs from moral feelings by the perspective from which a situation is viewed. I 535 General Envy/Rawls: differs considerably from the individual: their reasons are a lack of self-confidence coupled with a feeling of powerlessness. (Cf. F. Nietzsche, On The Genealogy of Morals (New York, 1967) I, secs, 10,11,14,14,16, II sec. 11, III secs. 14-16; Max Scheler, Ressentiment (Glencoe, Ill., 1961), pp. 45-50.) Conditions for the emergence of envy are: 1. lack of self-esteem, 2. a situation that is experienced as painful and degrading, 3. the assessment of one's own social position as one that does not allow for a change of situation. I 536 Solution/Rawls: many aspects of a well-ordered society alleviate these conditions if they do not even prevent them. Ad 1: The treaty doctrine of the concept of justice supports the development of self-esteem (see Self-Esteem/Rawls). The principles of justice ensure that inequalities can be accepted by all if they can be explained by flanking principles such as the principle of difference. Ad 2: We also compare the prosperity of others within the framework of social groups that have skills comparable to ours. I 537 In a fair society, it is not all too often that situations arise in which different levels of prosperity manifest themselves in options for action. Ad 3: At least a well-ordered society like any other provides constructive alternative to hostile outbreaks. >Society/Rawls. 1. Cf. I. Kant, The Metaphysics of Morals, S. II, § 36. 2. Cf. F. Nietzsche, On The Genealogy of Morals (New York, 1967) I, Abschn. 10,11,14,14,16, II Abschn. 11, III Abschn. 14-16; 3. Max Scheler, Ressentiment (Glencoe, Ill., 1961) S. 45-50._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Rawl I J. Rawls A Theory of Justice: Original Edition Oxford 2005 |
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Ed. Martin Schulz, access date 2024-04-19