Envy (also called invidiousness) is best defined as a resentful emotion that "occurs when a person lacks another's (perceived) superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it."[1]
Envy can also derive from a sense of low self-esteem that results from an upward social comparison threatening a person's self image: another person has something that the envier considers to be important to have. If the other person is perceived to be similar to the envier, the aroused envy will be particularly intense, because it signals to the envier that it just as well could have been he or she who had the desired object.[2][3]
Bertrand Russell said envy was one of the most potent causes of unhappiness.[4] It is a universal aspect of human nature because not only is the envious person rendered unhappy by his envy, but also wishes to inflict misfortune on others. Although envy is generally seen as something negative, Russell also believed that envy was a driving force behind the movement towards democracy and must be endured to achieve a more just social system.[5] However, psychologists have recently suggested that there may be two types of envy: malicious envy and benign envy - benign envy being proposed as a type of positive motivational force.[6][7]
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The classification of envy is somewhat controversial. There is no doubt that it is a feeling; one who experiences envy has a feeling of distress that the “rival” has obtained something that the “subject” desires. The controversy is whether envy is an emotion; however, there is a widespread assumption that it is indeed an emotion as well as a mere feeling. “Envy occurs when someone begrudges another individual for his or her possessions or attributes, or when an individual longs for the other’s possessions and attributes”.[8] Another definition of envy is “a person or a group of persons and some possession, capacity or trait that the subject supposes the rival to have. Envy involves both an envier (subject) and the party who is being envied (rival).[9]
Oftentimes envy and jealousy are confused and used interchangeably, which is inappropriate. While jealousy involves people, the target of envy is people’s possessions. For example, if your neighbor buys a brand new SUV you are going to lust over their new car and wish that you could buy a brand new SUV as well. The possessions involved in envy include not only material items, but other possessions in the form of psychological states, such as, utility, happiness, or superiority.
One theory that helps to explain envy and its affects on human behavior is the Socioevolutionary theory. Based upon (Charles) Darwin’s (1859) theory of evolution through natural selection, socioevolutionary theory predicts that humans behave in ways that enhance individual survival and also the reproduction of their genes. Thus, this theory provides a framework for understanding social behavior and experiences, such as the experience and expression of envy, as rooted in biological drives for survival and procreation.[8]Recent studies have demonstrated that inciting envy actually changes cognitive function; boosting mental persistence and memory.[10]
Jealousy is an emotion felt toward people and relationships. Envy is a negative emotion felt due to self-comparison of possessions. In simpler terms, envy is the wish to get what one does not have. “Envy is often confused with jealousy, or the reaction of an individual who fears that his or her relationship, property, skills, etc., are being compromised or interfered with by an outside source.[11] Both jealousy and envy begin as intrapsychic phenomena; that is, individuals first feel these emotions and then choose whether, or how, to express them. Although jealousy originates from a positive attachment to another, envy stems from resentment and begrudging.[12] Therefore, the components underlying envy include feelings of inferiority, ill-will, and possible guilt or denial.[13] It is possible that envy is a stronger negative relational influence than jealousy, as it has fewer positive consequences to balance the negative. In an absolute sense, envy may lead to less positive feelings and communications in personal relationships than does jealousy”.[8]
"Envy" and "jealousy" are often used interchangeably, but in correct usage they stand for two different distinct emotions.[1] In proper usage, jealousy is the fear of losing something that one possesses to another person (a loved one in the prototypical form), while envy is the pain or frustration caused by another person having something that one does not have oneself.[14] Envy typically involves two people, and jealousy typically involves three people.[14] It is possible to be envious of more than one individual at any given time. Usually envy involves wanting the beauty, wealth, or socioeconomic status of another individual. Envy and jealousy result from different situations and are distinct emotional experiences.[15] Both envy and jealousy are etymologically related to schadenfreude, the rejoicing at, or taking joy in, or getting pleasure from the misfortunes of others.[16][17]
Oftentimes, the envy involves a motive to “outdo or undo the rival’s advantages".[18] This type of envy is based on materialistic possessions rather than psychological states. Basically, people find themselves experiencing an overwhelming emotion due to someone else owning or possessing desirable items that they do not. For example, your next door neighbor just bought a brand new Lexus SUV sport—the exact car you’ve been infatuated with for months now but can’t afford. Feelings of envy in this situation would occur in the forms of emotional pain, a lack of self-worth, and a lowered self-esteem/well-being.
In Nelson W. Aldrich Jr.'s Old Money, he states that "[e]nvy is so integral and painful part of what animates human behavior in market societies that many people have forgotten the full meaning of the word, simplifying it into on of the symptoms of desire. It is that [(a symptom of desire)], which is why it flourishes in market societies: democracies of desire, they might be called, with money for ballots, stuffing permitted. But envy is more or less than desire. It begins with the almost frantic sense of emptiness inside oneself, as if the pump of one's heart were sucking on air. One has to be blind to perceive the emptiness, of course, but that's what envy is, a selective blindness. Invidia, Latin for envy, translates as "nonsight," and Dante had the envious plodding along under cloaks of lead, their eyes sewn shut with leaden wire. What they are blind to is what they have, God-given and humanly nurtured, in themselves".[19]
Another instance of envy is when a person is envious of another’s status. For instance, if one of your coworkers receives a promotion that you feel that you are deserving of as well you may feel envious of their status at work. This is also true among spouses. For example, if one spouse is the breadwinner of the couple the other member of the couple may feel envious of the other’s earnings.
In the case of envy, experiencing envy may negatively affect the closeness and satisfaction of relationships. It is believed that overcoming envy is similar to dealing with other negative emotions (anger, resentment, etc.). Individuals experiencing anger often seek professional treatment (anger management) to help understand why they feel the way they do and how to cope. Subjects experiencing envy often have a skewed perception on how to achieve true happiness. By helping people to change these perceptions, they will be more able to understand the real meaning of fortune and satisfaction with what they do have. According to Lazarus, "coping is an integral feature of the emotion process".[20] There are very few theories that emphasize the coping process for emotions as compared to the information available concerning the emotion itself.
There are numerous styles of coping, of which there has been a significant amount of research done, for example, avoidant versus approach. Coping with envy can be similar to coping with anger. The issue must be addressed cognitively in order to work through the emotion. According to the research done by Salovey and Rodin (1988), "more effective strategies for reducing initial envy appear to be stimulus focused rather than self-focused.".[21] Salovey and Rodin (1988) also suggest "self-bolstering (e.g., "thinking about my good qualities") may be an effective strategy for moderating these self-deprecating thoughts and muting negative affective reactions".[21] Further research needs to be done in order to better understand envy, as well as to help people cope with this emotion.
Individuals with narcissistic personality disorder are often envious of others or believe others are envious of him or her.[22]
A narcissist may secure a sense of superiority in the face of another person's ability by using contempt to minimize the other person.[23]
Aristotle (in Rhetoric) defined envy (φθόνος phthonos) "as the pain caused by the good fortune of others",[24][25] while Kant defined it as "a reluctance to see our own well-being overshadowed by another's because the standard we use to see how well off we are is not the intrinsic worth of our own well-being but how it compares with that of others" (in Metaphysics of Morals).
Envy is one of the Seven deadly sins of the Catholic Church. In The Book of Genesis envy is said to be the motivation behind Cain murdering his brother, Abel, as Cain envied Abel because God favored Abel's sacrifice over Cain's. The Book of Exodus [Exo 20:17] states: "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
Envy is a sin of the flesh.[26] Envy (evil eye) is among the things that come from the heart, defiling a person.[27] The whole body is full of darkness when the eye, the lamp of the body, is bad.[28] Envy ruins the body health because it makes the bone rot[29] and excludes us from inheriting the kingdom of God.[30] Sometimes, as a punishment, God leaves some people in their sins, falling prey to envy and other heavy sins.[31]
The basis of all toil and all skill of the people[32](we always choose our job because we want the wealthy, fame and pleasures we see at the others" s job around us), envy is, therefore, a sin deeply engraved in human nature.[32] It appears (comes into being) when man lacks certain things, circumstance that exist when either he does not ask it from God or asks to spend it on his passions (pleasures).[33]
Envy may be caused by wealth (Isaac, envied of Philistines.[34]), by the brightness of wealth, power and beauty (Assyria kingdom envied of other kingdoms,[35] by political and military rising ( Saul eyed David from the moment he heard the women song of joy[36]), fertility (Leah, envied of Rachel[37]), social ascent (Joseph, whom his brothers were envious[38]), countless miracles and healings (the apostles envied of high priest and the Sadducees[39]), popularity (Paul and Barnabas, envied of unfaithful Jewish from Antioch-[40]), the success of Christianization of many Thessalonians (Paul and Silas, envied of unfaithful Jews from Thessalonica[41]), virtues and true power to heal, to make miracles and to teach people, (Jesus, envied of the chief priests[42])
Christians must not fall into the trap of envying of the wicked who seem to have a happy and untroubled life, but always be aware that God will reward each according to his deeds. The true Christian will be sure, as the psalmist the moment he enters the temple of God, that those bloated, with ,,pride as necklace’’ and ,,violence as garment’’ (clothing), which are stumbling block to the faith of ordinary people, will fade like greens, will be cut down quickly like the grass ", being thrown away and ruined the right time.[43]
Also, the Christians must not look with evil eye at the last converts to avoid therefore becoming the last ones, missing the kingdom of God[44] They should be happy for anyone saved, like Christ, who came to save the lost, as the shepherd seeking the lost sheep. Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, was among the lost ones and he succeeded in bringing salvation to him and to his house.[45]
It is no good eating the envier’s bread, nor desiring his delicacies, because he is like one who is inwardly calculating, "his heart is not with you” and so, you will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten, and waste your pleasant words”.[46]
Sometimes arisen out of sophistry,[47] envy cannot coexist with true and spiritual wisdom, but with false, earthly, unspiritual, demonic wisdom.[48]
In Christian teachings throwing away envy is a crucial condition in the path to salvation.[49] Envy was seen by the Apostle Paul as a real danger even within the first Christian communities.[50] It is taught that envy should remain a sin of the past, defeated by God teaching,[51] which, as in the tenth commandment, forbids from coveting neighbour’s things, woman, and servants,[52] and urges Christians to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, as Apostle Paul said,[53] and to 'love our neighbours as ourselves'.[54] Because 'brotherly, Christian love banishes definitively envy from our hearts'.[55]
In Islam, envy (Hassad in Arabic) can destroy one's good deeds. Therefore, one must be content with what God has given to them by saying Maashallah (God has willed it).
Prophet (saw) said, “Do not envy each other, do not hate each other, do not oppose each other, and do not cut relations, rather be servants of Allaah as brothers. It is not permissible for a Muslim to disassociate from his brother for more than three days such that they meet and one ignores the other, and the best of them is the one who initiates the salaam.” Saheeh al-Bukhaaree [Eng. Trans. 8/58 no. 91], Saheeh Muslim [Eng. Trans. 4/1360 no. 6205, 6210]
Where he wishes for himself a blessing like that which someone else has, without wanting it to be taken away from the other person. This is permissible and is not called hasad rather it is called ghibtah
"There is to be no envy except in two cases: (towards) a person to whom Allaah has granted wisdom, and who rules by this and teaches it to the people, and (towards) a person to whom Allaah has granted wealth and property along with the power to spend it in the cause of the Truth." [Al-Bukhaari & Muslim]
One who does not envy but is a compassionate friend to all ... such a devotee is very dear to Me. Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 Verse 15.
In Hinduism, Envy, is disastrous emotion. Hinduism maintains that anything which causes the mind to lose balance with itself leads to misery. This was displayed on the epic Mahabharata where in the chief villain, Duryodhana launches the kurukshetra war because of the prosperity of his younger brothers. He is known to have remarked "Father! The prosperity of the Pandavas (younger brothers) is burning me deeply! I cannot eat, sleep or live in the knowledge that they are better off than me!" Hinduism debates that envy can be handled by understanding that he/she are enjoying fruits of their past karmic actions and that one should not allow such devious emotions to take control of the mind or else one would end up in the situation as the antagonist of the Mahabharata.
In Buddhism the third of the four divine abidings is mudita, taking joy in the good fortune of another. This virtue is considered the antidote to envy and the opposite of schadenfreude.
In English-speaking cultures, envy is often associated with the color green, as in "green with envy". The phrase "green-eyed monster" refers to an individual whose current actions appear motivated by jealousy not envy. This is based on a line from Shakespeare's Othello. Shakespeare mentions it also in The Merchant of Venice when Portia states: "How all the other passions fleet to air, as doubtful thoughts and rash embraced despair and shuddering fear and green-eyed jealousy!"
Envy is known as one of the most powerful human emotions for its ability to control one as if envy was an entity in itself. Countless men and women have fallen prey to brief periods of intense envy followed by anger which then translates into aggression. One of the most common examples is a woman who is envious of another's beauty, such as in the fairy tale "Snow White," in which the evil stepmother is envious of Snow White's youth and beauty, and seeks to kill the young woman in order to once again be the "fairest of them all."
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