The Opposite of Envy
- Thread starter Mistah J
- Start date
Celebrim
Legend
The word is mudita.
Celebrim
Legend
Seconded! You hit the nail straight on its head imo, Morrus.
Fine. But then what is the opposite of greed? Do greed and envy simply refer to the same thing?
No. Greed just means you want "more", not "what someone else has". If everyone had the same stuff, an envious person would be content (because nobody has something he hasn't got), but the greedy person would want more stuff.
The opposite of greed would be contentedness with having nothing. I'm sure there's a word for that, but it escapes me right now!
There is, of course, some overlap betwen envy and greed (such is the English language!), but situations exist where one would manifest but the other would not.
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Sepulchrave II
Legend
Yep.
Say Bob wins $1,000,000. How do I respond?
Envy: I hate you. I want it. I deserve it. It's mine. I hate you.
Mudita: I rejoice in your good fortune.
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Mistah J
First Post
Strictly speaking, Envy and Jealousy are not the same thing. Envy is just as you describe here; wanting what someone else has or feeling that you deserve something more than the one who got it. Jealousy is what one feels when they are afraid someone else is going to take what they have. A jealousy guarded treasure, or a jealous significant other who sees everyone as a threat to their relationship, for example.
However I fully believe that in today's modern language the two have changed to the point of being almost synonymous.
Your absolutely right here, I did oversimplify my definition in my OP.
That's a good one! Though some might say that the difference between generosity and charity (normally the opposite of greed) to be very fine, if there is any at all.
Mistah J
First Post
Not at all. You can be jealous of something someone else has but you don't.
I only agree with the "I want it" part. I don't believe envy alone comes with sense of entitlement, only desire. And the "I hate you" part is hatred.
Sure, you can be envious of someone and hate them (and they often go hand in hand), but you can have either without the other.
Indeed, you can believe you deserve something but not want it; or want something but not believe you deserve it.
Envy is purely the wanting of something someone else has. The sense of entitlement, and the hatred, are different emotions; although they go hand in hand with envy 99% of the time.
