Is it possible to enjoy the pain of others?

Many of us have sometimes wondered if it is possible to enjoy the pain of others.. In Germany, for example, they do not doubt this and that is why the word exists. Schadenfreude to describe, precisely, that behavior. Rejoicing and feeling pleasure in the failure or suffering of others is, for some experts, a type of emotion that is as real as it is descriptive of human beings.

Now, it should not surprise us at all if we affirm that Most of us have experienced it at some point. Regardless of whether or not it is moral to smile inwardly at the fatalities of others, there is something evident. There are those who see a kind of “divine justice” in those situations in which someone who at a given moment behaved badly and ends up receiving his own medicine.

There is a perverse pleasure when, for example, we see that that neighbor who treats us badly has suffered a breakdown and his house has filled with water. We can even laugh at that friend or family member who, after making a joke, ends up stumbling and exposing himself. There are situations and situations; some might even be understandable.

Other times, the feeling of delight in the bad luck of others reveals a certain Machiavellianism and that is where that most disturbing side of the human being emerges. Let’s get more information.

It is possible to enjoy the pain of others: this is the explanation

Arthur Schopenhauer said that feeling envy is human, but enjoying other people’s misfortune is diabolical. Because it is possible to enjoy the pain of others and this is something we see frequently. We are struck, for example, by how the phenomenon of bullying It is perpetrated daily, demonstrating how from a very early age people can laugh at the suffering of their peers.

It is not necessary, therefore, for someone to suffer from a personality disorder to experience that delight. Not only psychopaths with their lack of empathy are moved by the pain of those in front of them.. Sometimes, the simple fact of seeing how the members of the opposing team cry in a soccer game brings enjoyment to many fans. Does this perhaps evidence that we all have a dark side?

The secret revenge of the powerless and the sense of justice

We pointed it out at the beginning. Most of the times when human beings take pleasure in the suffering of others, they respond to a sense of justice.. It is the feeling that that person deserves the suffering he experiences because he has previously generated it in others in some way (by using lies, manipulation, hypocrisy, etc.).

Philosophers like the doctor John Portmann, author of the book When Bad Things Happen to Other People, They tell us something more in reference to this idea:

It is possible to enjoy the pain of others when we believe that that person deserves it. Furthermore, Nietzsche described the Yeschadenfreude as ‘the revenge of the impotent’, of that person who has suffered before and who now sees how his punisher suffers.This delight also arises when said condition is not serious.. That is to say, we need this misfortune in the other to be as slight as possible to feel pleasure. Likewise, there is another factor: that We are not responsible for that situation. It is always better that it be chance that causes that person to experience the pain that they themselves have generated in others.

When delight in the suffering of others reveals a lack of empathy

Marta was betrayed by her partner for months without her knowing. In the end, her partner left her and started another relationship. A few days ago Marta found out that her ex is being cheated on by her current girlfriend and this gives her great pleasure.

Carlos is driving on a highway and at one point, a driver makes a dangerous maneuver to overtake him that almost ends in an accident. Nothing happens and that vehicle drives away at high speed. After a few kilometers he sees how the police have stopped that person to give him a fine. Carlos smiles enjoying the scene.

These situations show us once again that it is possible to enjoy the pain of others. Now, as we already know, most of these experiences occur in rather innocuous contexts. However, as we can imagine, the emotion Schadenfreude can arise in situations where there is already more obvious suffering and whose delight hints at something darker.

It is possible to enjoy the pain of others, but some reveal a “darker” side

Richard H. Smith, professor at the University of Kentucky, is one of the great experts on what we could call “dark emotions.” So, in his book Schadenfreude: Joy from the evil of others It tells us something interesting. Human beings, he explains, seek to feel privileged. Sometimes, The simple fact that others suffer or feel humiliated reinforces their self-esteem and feeds their shortcomings.

In other words, there are those who, seeing how others suffer from hunger or calamities, They are pleased to see that they are in a better position. If a family member or friend loses their job, they quietly enjoy it because now he or she, in comparison, will be privileged and something like this reinforces their ego.

In these types of situations What we basically appreciate is a lack of empathy, in addition to a clear emotional coldness. Sadly, we see this phenomenon frequently in many of our scenarios: politics, economy, social networks… There is never a shortage of those voices that delight in the misfortune of others, that celebrate the failure of others without measuring the significance, without appreciating the human drama that exists. behind the fateful.

As striking as it may seem to us, this has always happened and will always happen. In the human being there is always a nook where the chiaroscuros navigate. It is enough to remember, for example, the famous phrase of the writer and essayist Gore Vidal that says “It is not enough to be successful; others must fail.”

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