About the Benefits of Pleasure-in-Others’-Misfortune. Aaron Ben-Ze’ev’s Depiction of Emotions as Adaptive Mechanisms

Abstract

This paper was inspired by two ideas: (1) the concept of emotions as adaptive mechanisms, which was suggested by Aaron Ben-Ze’ev, and (2) Robert Solomon’s criticism of the distinction between “positive” and “negative” emotions which functions in social sciences. In the context of the above mentioned theoretical perspectives I consider the infamous emotion of pleasure-in-others’-misfortune in terms of possible benefits for the experiencing subject. I focus especially on supposed adaptive quality of pleasure-in-others’-aging.