Unpacking The Emotion No One Likes to Talk About

Of all the emotions, there's one that people are arguably the most reluctant to talk about and admit to feeling.

Envy.

Not only is there very little social discussion of envy, but there's also been very little academic scholarship on the topic. As a result, few people really understand this emotion — what it is, why they feel it, and what it means in their life.

Today we'll reveal the fascinating dimensions of the green-eyed monster with one of the few people who has given a lot of thought and study to this oft-neglected but important subject: Sara Protasi, a professor of philosophy and the author of The Philosophy of Envy. Today on the show, Sara defines envy and explains how it's different from jealousy and why people are more comfortable admitting to feeling jealous than envious. Sara then unpacks what she thinks are the four types of envy, and we work our way from the worst type to a kind that is actually redeemable and potentially beneficial. We end our conversation with how envy, something that's often considered the worst kind of vice, can, in fact, be used to achieve more excellence in your life.

• AoM Article: An Intro on Envy
• AoM Article: Envy, Ressentiment, and the Inversion of Values
• AoM Article: The Insidious Disguises of Envy
• Scene from Mississippi Burning — My Daddy Killed That Mule

• Sara's website
• Sara's faculty page
• Sara on PhilPapers
• Sara on Facebook
• Sara on X

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