Envy: meaning
Envy =[from Lat. envy, der. by invĭdus: v. I envy]. – An unpleasant feeling that one feels for a good or a quality of others that one would like for oneself, often accompanied by aversion and resentment for the one who instead possesses this good or quality; also, the generic disposition to feel such a feeling, due mostly to a sense of pride for which it is not tolerated that others have equal or superior qualities, or succeed better in the activity than him or have greater luck.
Envy can, in some cases, become a pathology and is called Procrustean Syndrome. Those who suffer from it feel envious of the successes of others and, to feel better, they can even take actions to sabotage them.
The name Procrustes derives from a brigand of Greek mythology. In fact, he was famous for his nature as a torturer, who did not tolerate those who were different or better than him.
Umberto Galimberti, in his book
The Italian philosopher, Umberto Galimberti, in his book The deadly sins and the new vices (Milan, Feltrinelli 2003) describes him as a
envy is a defense mechanism, a desperate attempt to safeguard one’s identity when she feels threatened by confrontation with others. A confrontation that the envious on the one hand cannot stand and on the other cannot avoid, because the entire social framework is based on the confrontation. […]
We cannot know ourselves except by comparing ourselves with others, so at the bottom of every evaluation of us, there is always someone with whom we have confronted ourselves. The dynamics of a company is the effect of this comparative push. And those who feel diminished by comparison resort to envy to protect their own value through the devaluation of others. […]
Between envy and pride there is a subtle kinship due to the fact that the proud, on the one hand, tend to surpass others, when in turn it is overcome, it does not resign, and the effect of this non-resignation is envy.
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