Schadenfreude

What is Schadenfreude?

I first heard this term years ago on the show Boston Legal, when in the second season the protagonist lawyer Alan Shore was giving a closing argument on the innocence of his client. Throughout the closing argument, he continually asks “Why are we here?”. He continually points out that there isn’t any hard evidence to support the conviction and that it’s statistically more likely that the client’s late husband had killed himself instead of being killed by the defendant. To finish the argument, Alan Shore offers this reason for why they are there, “Shadenfreude. From the German words, Schaden and Freude, damage and joy. It means to take spiteful, malicious delight in the misfortune of others. We used to dismiss this as simply an ugly side of human nature, but it is much much more than that. Recently a Stanford professor actually captured Schadenfreude on a brain scan. It’s a physiological medical phenomenon. When we see others fall it sometimes causes a chemical to be released in the dorsal striatum of the brain which actually causes us to feel pleasure. If you watch the news or read the papers, which of course you don’t because the Judge said not to, but if you did, you would see the undeniable delicious joy of the media and the public over Kelly Nolan’s plight. I have no doubt that you want Kelly Nolan to be punished. She married for money, she had an affair, she carried on naked in the pool with her boyfriend. She’s cold, materialistic, unlikable, and it might bring you all pleasure to see her go to jail. But as for evidence to establish that she committed a murder beyond all reasonable doubt? It just isn’t there. The only possible route to a guilty verdict here is Schadenfreude.”

What Causes Schadenfreude?

Physiologists have discovered that there is a direct inverse correlation between feelings of Schadenfreude, and self esteem. Meaning if you have a lower self esteem, you are far more likely to feel Schadenfreude. This can primarily be attributed to an idea of insecurity and the fact that seeing someone else do bad gives people the idea that maybe they themselves aren’t so bad.

There are three ways Schadenfreude can be experienced. Aggression Schadenfreude that comes from members of a group experiencing Schadenfreude from seeing the misfortune of another group such as a 49’er fan watching the Cowboys lose. Rivalry Schadenfreude comes from social comparison and is attributed to insecurity along with having a stronger feeling of social security after seeing someone else fail. Finally, justice Schadenfreude comes from seeing someone get what is coming to them, such as Game of Thrones fans watching hated characters get killed.

Where is Shadenfreude found?

It’s an instinct that is preyed upon throughout our society. When you get in the checkout line for groceries you’re sure to see a magazine with a cover showing some celebrity scandal. More often than not the news media is far more likely to appeal to Schadenfreude by covering some celebrity fumble than cover the news involving genocide in another country.

Why is Shadenfreude Dangerous?

We live in a society today where this emotion was fed upon so much we’ve almost become numb to its danger. Researching this topic I even found multiple articles attempting to justify Schadenfreude. Proverbs 24:17-18 states, “Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.” Romans 12:19 states, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. “This isn’t an emotion God wants people to feel. Why is this?

Justice

As stated above, one of the main reasons people feel Schadenfreude is because it gives people a sense of justice, but do we know what justice is? Going back to the case in Boston Legal, people wanted the woman convicted of murder, not because of hard evidence but simply because she is incredibly unlikable. Is that really justice? In some people’s minds, it might be. How many times has the opposite happened, where guilty people get off because people like them? Ultimately humans are flawed in their sense of justice because we can never have the full picture. God says vengeance and true justice should only belong to him because he is the only one with the full picture.

Obviously, we need rules and punishment though otherwise, people would do whatever they want without consequence. What I’m trying to point out is the danger of thinking you know what justice truly is.

Without Sin

In the gospel of John, Jesus is presented with a woman who had committed adultery. The law of Moses demanded such a woman be stoned to death. The Pharisees who brought the woman before Jesus didn’t care about getting true justice but instead sought to trap Jesus and show he wasn’t the messiah. If Jesus said the woman should die then he wouldn’t be a true savior. If he said the woman should be freed than he would be going against the law. If Jesus just said nothing then he would be seen as unwise. Jesus’ reply to the problem was saying, “Let him who is without sin, cast the first stone.” Eventually, every person there left and no one condemned her because no one is without sin.

Conclusion

A few months ago I got the amazing opportunity to visit Denmark. The country is very different politically from the United States. There’s free healthcare, people are paid to go to college, and it’s not of the most heavily taxed countries in the world. I asked a friend I made while I was there what she thought of all of it. She said she while the taxes were super high she was fine with it because she saw the good it did for everyone because they were there. Our aim as human beings should always be the betterment of all people. This isn’t something that can be achieved if we take pleasure in the suffering of others, or are too fast to bring “justice” to our fellow man. This however is a very difficult thing to do. It goes against some of our most basic instincts to want good for people we don’t think deserve it. Christianity teaches not just to respect your enemy, but to love and pray for your enemy. It’s a very difficult thing that not many people can truly achieve. All we can do is do our best to resist Schadenfreude and wish the best for everyone.