โ Scribed by Portmann, John
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Although many of us deny it, it is not uncommon to feel pleasure over the suffering of others, particularly when we feel that suffering has been deserved. The German word for this concept - Schadenfreude - has become universal in its expression of this feeling. Drawing on the teachings of history's most prominent philosophers, John Portmann explores the concept of Schadenfreude in this rigorous, comprehensive, and absorbing study.
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Does taking pleasure in the pain of another always represent malice? Or can this emotion reflect a thoughtful respect for justice? And what about humor, which often revolves around a "comeuppance" that those who laugh see as trivial (though the laughter's target may disagree)? These are the sorts of questions Portmann takes on in his nuanced analysis of schadenfreude. The subject has been debated by philosophers over the generations; Portmann engages with them, from Kant and Freud to Nietzsche and Schopenhauer. He draws on literature, too, exploring the positions of Kafka and Dickens, Umberto Eco and Toni Morrison, and applies his normative notion of schadenfreude to current debates on subjects such as capital punishment, media violence, and the cult of celebrity. Portmann defends schadenfreude but urges attention to its basis in "power structures and social forces through which our characters both take shape and shape the lives of those around us." A demanding but productively provocative analysis. Mary Carroll
...a valuable addition to moral philosophy because it points up some of the conundrums associated with a careful consideration of Schadenfreude. -- Philosophy and Literature
...strongly recommended as a stimulating and perceptive examination of issues and questions relating to our attitudes toward the misfortunes of other people with which all of us are familiar in our moral lives. -- The Virginia Quarterly Review
[The book] is praiseworthy for taking up the frequently neglected topic of the ethics of emotions and for pointing out why discussion of emotions has been shunned by many philosophers...the book's style is quite readable... -- The World
...fine nuggets peppered through the text... -- New York Times
A demanding but productively provocative analysis. -- Booklist
...lucid and engaging. -- The Wall Street Journal
Schadenfreude is a fascinating emotion, much neglected but obviously of great importance for practical ethics and moral psychology. Portmann's book cuts across the intersection of current emotion theory, psychology and ethics and invites philosophical interaction with some classic literature on some of the nastier emotions. The author is obviously well-read and has a rich store of literary and philosophical examples. -- Robert C. Solomon, University of Texas at Austin
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