Envy

---

As well-known envy as social emotion may be, as confusing are its psychological descriptions and explanations. Psychological research in the 20th century has put in in close relation to other emotions such as admiration and jealousy, sometimes even suggesting a synonymity. Envy is a central emotion for the psychological understanding of social institutions such as ownership and property and related behaviors. It needs to be considered in order to comprehend destructive intentions directed towards the resources of others. Different to admiration - which may motivate social emulation - the feeling of envy brings about a desire for the destruction of what is envied... (to be continued, TeS)

Invidia (Giotto, ca. 1306)