Schadenfreude

[c172]

...and you are from where?

[Jenny A]

...and you are from where?

U.S.A. not Mars.

You don't find slap-stick funny?

[Surgenator]

If you're laughing at someone's stupidity, then I don't think it is amoral. That includes people who win the Darwin award. I know I'm harsh, but being that stupid is punishable by death.

I'm not sure how much I want to be laughing at retardation. But people who are but behave as if they are. . . that's funny. Or sad. depends on the consequences. --- Though I admit laughing at the Darwin Awards even when perhaps I shouldn't.

I'm not going to laugh at the clinically retarded, just at people who decide to act clinically retarded despite their better judgement.

[genkaus]

Is schadenfreude itself immoral, or do we have to cause the misfortune or revel in undeserved misfortune of others for it to be immoral?

Oh, and immoral or not, do you admit to schadenfreude?

I do admit to schadenfreude - with the caveat that the concept should not be regarded divorced from context. For exmaple, the only times I recall feeling joy at the misery of others is when I held certain dislike for the person or if the misery was self-caused.

Which brings me to the conclusion that it'd be incorrect to judge it as moral or immoral absent any context. Without any such context, I'd regard it as amoral.

[c172]

...and you are from where?

U.S.A. not Mars.

You don't find slap-stick funny?

Oops, I think I got ninjaed by you. We're still trying to figure out where DQ is from, roughly.

[Jenny A]

Is schadenfreude itself immoral, or do we have to cause the misfortune or revel in undeserved misfortune of others for it to be immoral?

Oh, and immoral or not, do you admit to schadenfreude?

I do admit to schadenfreude - with the caveat that the concept should not be regarded divorced from context. For exmaple, the only times I recall feeling joy at the misery of others is when I held certain dislike for the person or if the misery was self-caused.

Which brings me to the conclusion that it'd be incorrect to judge it as moral or immoral absent any context. Without any such context, I'd regard it as amoral.

Frankly, in any context, I don't thing our emotions are iniquities---only our actions are crimes. This is where I differ greatly from Christians. If you hate with a passion and yet restrain yourself for moral reasons you are virtuous. It is what you do, not what you want to do that matters.

[genkaus]

Frankly, in any context, I don't thing our emotions are iniquities---only our actions are crimes. This is where I differ greatly from Christians. If you hate with a passion and yet restrain yourself for moral reasons you are virtuous. It is what you do, not what you want to do that matters.

Judging emotions as moral or immoral is how we decide whether those emotions should be acted upon. For example, if I see something good and want to steal it, I would then determine that according to my moral principles, that emotion is immoral - so I shouldn't act on it. While the action is a crime, the emotion itself qualifies for immorality.

[ShaMan]

Seeing others experience misfortune triggers deep compassion in me.

[Alex K]

Is schadenfreude itself immoral, or do we have to cause the misfortune or revel in undeserved misfortune of others for it to be immoral?

Hey, how can it be immoral if we Germans do it *cough*

---

I'm surprised any part of 'schadenfreude' means 'joy'.

Guess which part... I give you a hint:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB9nCSWYAnE

[Jenny A]

Frankly, in any context, I don't thing our emotions are iniquities---only our actions are crimes. This is where I differ greatly from Christians. If you hate with a passion and yet restrain yourself for moral reasons you are virtuous. It is what you do, not what you want to do that matters.

Judging emotions as moral or immoral is how we decide whether those emotions should be acted upon. For example, if I see something good and want to steal it, I would then determine that according to my moral principles, that emotion is immoral - so I shouldn't act on it. While the action is a crime, the emotion itself qualifies for immorality.

Really? I'd say morality is behavior based on reason. Don't steal, that's moral. Want to steal? That a test. Steal? That's failure and immoral.