Schadenfreude
- enjoying the pain & failures of others
- is an all-too-familiar feeling. It has perplexed philosophers & psychologists for centuries but, in a time of polarised politics, twitter trolls & `sidebars of shame`, has never been more relevant. Recent studies have shown that we smile more at a rival`s loss than at our own success. But why can it be so much fun to witness another`s distress? & what, if anything, should we do about it? In Schadenfreude, historian of emotions Tiffany Watt Smith offers expert insight & advice. Ranging across thinkers from Nietzsche to Homer Simpson, investigating the latest scientific research, & collecting some outrageous confessions on the way
- she reveals how everyone, babies, nuns, your most trusted friends, are enjoying your misfortunes. But rather than an emotional glitch, she argues, Schadenfreude can reveal profound truths about our relationships with others & our sense of who we are. Frank, warm & laugh-out-loud funny, Schadenfreude makes the case for thinking afresh about this much-maligned emotion
- & perhaps, even, embracing it.