envy

About

Envy is an emotion that occurs when a person lacks another's quality, skill, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it. The emotion can also refer to the wish for another person to lack something one already possesses so as to remove the equality of possession between both parties. Aristotle defined envy as pain at the sight of another's good fortune, stirred by those who have what we ought to have. Bertrand Russell characterized envy as one of the most potent causes of unhappiness. Recent research has examined the conditions under which envy occurs, how people deal with it, and whether it can inspire people to emulate those they envy. Envy differs from jealousy in important ways, as jealousy is usually focused on emotional relationships and the fear of losing them, while envy is focused on a desire for other people's things or situations.