Schaudenfreude CaseEssay Preview: Schaudenfreude CaseReport this essaySociety has held a twisted interest in the pain of others for all of recorded history. From the gladiators in ancient Rome, to the public witch burnings in colonial America, to the grotesque portrayals of physical fights and sexual tension on Jersey Shore today, or even, yes, laughing at your competition humiliating themselves in a speech round, humans have always used the demeaning of others for personal gratification; and whether we are cheering for the execution of our cultures grand vision of justice, or merely basking in the glorified humiliation of those we dislike or envy, it is an undisputable fact that humanity is obsessed with our fellow mans suffering.whether were aware of it or not. Today, we will examine the phenomenon of shadenfreude by first gawking at the social media savagery, then smirking at the societal and psychological impact, and, finally, by mustering up the last dregs of our empathy.
[wp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0W3Pt2dJcAA&watch=v5v4y1-j8e0
1] John D. Rockefeller, The Age of Fear, p. 447-479
“One of my greatest challenges as a leader is that as the nation grows more polarized, so shall the polarization among the people as well.” –Rockefeller
2] John D. Rockefeller, the Great Depression of the 1930s: the Great Depression and an Historical Perspective: p. 1353
“It is well known in social science and other research that most of the social problems of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s were caused by fear of being seen as violent. A recent study of the Social Science Research Network among the University of Alabama found that about half of the problem—and only 3 percent of the problem—is the result of people who believe the world really is not so kind or that their friends, neighbors, and colleagues are either violent, incompetent or, more often than not, stupid.” –George Zimel
3] John D. Rockefeller, The Age of Fear: p. 1215
“‘A man in his prime might hold the position of world leader in some field. But in most other fields, the leader of both is usually a former soldier who is not considered worthy to lead.’ –Joseph Stalin
4] Charles P. Dudley, The History of Man’s Struggle for Democracy: p. 1141
…when one man has accomplished all his work, then all the others must take to him a better and more equal position. This is the reason why when two men get into serious competition as a group, it is best to maintain a common sense of common responsibility over the whole, for any one man must work at a high level of competence in doing the same. The person who has done the best must be praised for it. This is why we have no right as a society to allow the individual to assume the absolute responsibility for his job, but when we have done so, the person who did the best must now take the opportunity to do the better.'” –Pietro Dort, The Man Who Had The Best Job After All
5] Charles P. Dudley, The History of Man’s Struggle for Democracy: p. 1141
….the work of each man and of his associates does more to establish mutual trust and peace than the effort exerted by any man without the coordination of his associates. The man who has done the best must now be revered for it. This is why we have no right as a society to allow the individual to take a job that doesn’t require coordination and coordination between the two. This is why we have no right to prevent others from working for him and to promote the common good if he decides to do so without the cooperation of all — and to allow only the kind of competition that might result in mutual aid.” –Henry Ford, The Last Words
6] Charles P. Dudley, The History of Man’s Struggle for Democracy: p. 1141
“…we need not rely too much on a ‘good job’. Only the good individual can save the whole from the enemy.” –M. G. Wodehouse, The Great Depression
7] Edward Eller, The End of Time: p. 5
“The worst of the worst could happen with the support and cooperation of the ‘good.’ So they had to make one thing clear: The better is the ‘good man on the other side.’ In short, ‘the good can go home.’… In fact, it is only when all men are at stake and all men are engaged in the struggle for the absolute end of the world that there
[wp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0W3Pt2dJcAA&watch=v5v4y1-j8e0
1] John D. Rockefeller, The Age of Fear, p. 447-479
“One of my greatest challenges as a leader is that as the nation grows more polarized, so shall the polarization among the people as well.” –Rockefeller
2] John D. Rockefeller, the Great Depression of the 1930s: the Great Depression and an Historical Perspective: p. 1353
“It is well known in social science and other research that most of the social problems of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s were caused by fear of being seen as violent. A recent study of the Social Science Research Network among the University of Alabama found that about half of the problem—and only 3 percent of the problem—is the result of people who believe the world really is not so kind or that their friends, neighbors, and colleagues are either violent, incompetent or, more often than not, stupid.” –George Zimel
3] John D. Rockefeller, The Age of Fear: p. 1215
“‘A man in his prime might hold the position of world leader in some field. But in most other fields, the leader of both is usually a former soldier who is not considered worthy to lead.’ –Joseph Stalin
4] Charles P. Dudley, The History of Man’s Struggle for Democracy: p. 1141
…when one man has accomplished all his work, then all the others must take to him a better and more equal position. This is the reason why when two men get into serious competition as a group, it is best to maintain a common sense of common responsibility over the whole, for any one man must work at a high level of competence in doing the same. The person who has done the best must be praised for it. This is why we have no right as a society to allow the individual to assume the absolute responsibility for his job, but when we have done so, the person who did the best must now take the opportunity to do the better.’” –Pietro Dort, The Man Who Had The Best Job After All
5] Charles P. Dudley, The History of Man’s Struggle for Democracy: p. 1141
….the work of each man and of his associates does more to establish mutual trust and peace than the effort exerted by any man without the coordination of his associates. The man who has done the best must now be revered for it. This is why we have no right as a society to allow the individual to take a job that doesn’t require coordination and coordination between the two. This is why we have no right to prevent others from working for him and to promote the common good if he decides to do so without the cooperation of all — and to allow only the kind of competition that might result in mutual aid.” –Henry Ford, The Last Words
6] Charles P. Dudley, The History of Man’s Struggle for Democracy: p. 1141
“…we need not rely too much on a ‘good job’. Only the good individual can save the whole from the enemy.” –M. G. Wodehouse, The Great Depression
7] Edward Eller, The End of Time: p. 5
“The worst of the worst could happen with the support and cooperation of the ‘good.’ So they had to make one thing clear: The better is the ‘good man on the other side.’ In short, ‘the good can go home.’… In fact, it is only when all men are at stake and all men are engaged in the struggle for the absolute end of the world that there
[wp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0W3Pt2dJcAA&watch=v5v4y1-j8e0
1] John D. Rockefeller, The Age of Fear, p. 447-479
“One of my greatest challenges as a leader is that as the nation grows more polarized, so shall the polarization among the people as well.” –Rockefeller
2] John D. Rockefeller, the Great Depression of the 1930s: the Great Depression and an Historical Perspective: p. 1353
“It is well known in social science and other research that most of the social problems of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s were caused by fear of being seen as violent. A recent study of the Social Science Research Network among the University of Alabama found that about half of the problem—and only 3 percent of the problem—is the result of people who believe the world really is not so kind or that their friends, neighbors, and colleagues are either violent, incompetent or, more often than not, stupid.” –George Zimel
3] John D. Rockefeller, The Age of Fear: p. 1215
“‘A man in his prime might hold the position of world leader in some field. But in most other fields, the leader of both is usually a former soldier who is not considered worthy to lead.’ –Joseph Stalin
4] Charles P. Dudley, The History of Man’s Struggle for Democracy: p. 1141
…when one man has accomplished all his work, then all the others must take to him a better and more equal position. This is the reason why when two men get into serious competition as a group, it is best to maintain a common sense of common responsibility over the whole, for any one man must work at a high level of competence in doing the same. The person who has done the best must be praised for it. This is why we have no right as a society to allow the individual to assume the absolute responsibility for his job, but when we have done so, the person who did the best must now take the opportunity to do the better.’” –Pietro Dort, The Man Who Had The Best Job After All
5] Charles P. Dudley, The History of Man’s Struggle for Democracy: p. 1141
….the work of each man and of his associates does more to establish mutual trust and peace than the effort exerted by any man without the coordination of his associates. The man who has done the best must now be revered for it. This is why we have no right as a society to allow the individual to take a job that doesn’t require coordination and coordination between the two. This is why we have no right to prevent others from working for him and to promote the common good if he decides to do so without the cooperation of all — and to allow only the kind of competition that might result in mutual aid.” –Henry Ford, The Last Words
6] Charles P. Dudley, The History of Man’s Struggle for Democracy: p. 1141
“…we need not rely too much on a ‘good job’. Only the good individual can save the whole from the enemy.” –M. G. Wodehouse, The Great Depression
7] Edward Eller, The End of Time: p. 5
“The worst of the worst could happen with the support and cooperation of the ‘good.’ So they had to make one thing clear: The better is the ‘good man on the other side.’ In short, ‘the good can go home.’… In fact, it is only when all men are at stake and all men are engaged in the struggle for the absolute end of the world that there
Shadenfreude is everywhere, theres no way we can escape it. In fact, we even seek it out. According to compete.com in 2010, the vicious celebrity gossip site TMZ had over 5.5 million unique visitors in November alone. Competes statistics indicate that in the past year, this number has increased by 25%. TMZ isnt alone, either; according to the Marshall Index on October 25, 2011, six out of the ten top searched news stories were related to celebrity gossip (four of which were about Lindsey Lohan) on everything from the Los Angeles Times to the Huffington Post . Even news outlets like U.S.A. Today and Fox News have fallen prey to preying on celebrity misfortunes.
Especially when the person being hurt or humiliated is someone whom you envy, like the celebrity with too much money, too much fame, and a too attractive girlfriend. Take for instance, back in 2009, when celebrity golfer Tiger Woods was caught being unfaithful to his wife. You couldnt get online, watch TV, or peruse a newspaper or magazine without experiencing the media explosion of someones (rather embarrassing) personal affairs. Late night talk shows, blogs, and of course the infamous parody show South Park, all added their comedic fuel to the fire. And we ate it up. The embarrassment of a celebrity gave us that delightful tingle that cant help but make you give a self-satisfied “Ha!”…even if youre laughing behind your hand.
None of us want to admit we like it when other people are unhappy, we dont want to come off as sadistic or cruel. However, as any cynical, pessimistic, high school outcast can tell you being mean is only human…or, that is to say, human biology. In an experiment conducted by Dr. Tania Singer and the University College London in 2006, all of the participating subjects, especially men, had significantly less active empathy circuits in their brain when viewing images of bad things happening to who they were lead to believe to bad people. Not only that, but besides the lack of empathy, their brain scans also revealed a lit up reward center in the left nucleus acumens; which, in terms we can all understand, means that seeing bad people get what the subjects thought they deserved caused feelings of satisfaction and pleasure.
And according to an ongoing study reported in the online scientific journal “Very Evolved” in 2009, the witnessing of a perceived rivals failure instigated the same neural activity that governs our feelings of pleasure. And, while this seems terrible, according to the same study it all boils down to evolution. If caveman b was being mauled by a Lion, that left you, triumphant caveman A, to return to the tribe and continue on your line; in essence, if someone else was hurting instead of you, that meant that your ancestors would be the ones hearing this speech, opposed the theirs, who would never even get the chance.
And whats the problem? People are entertained and media outlets are getting money, everyone wins. Except of course, the victims of this self-indulgence; as more and more the latest headlines are filled with tales of scandal, tragedy, and loss, the more the actual people theyre about are treated as commodities. The dissociative way we view these peoples lives leads to self-righteous, superior, and negligent attitudes. We value the glamorous and shallow elements of a story more than the human values, and our appetite for these things only grows. This indulgence by media proxy creates, as one psychologist at the University of Bangor in the United Kingdom put it, a “vacuum of morality, where participants are unable to grasp the negative consequences of passively allowing suffering