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Chapter 3 - The Value of Envy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2021

Sara Protasi
Affiliation:
University of Puget Sound, Washington
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Summary

This chapter illustrates that envy’s ethical dimensions are varied and complex. A paradigmatic case of vicious (spiteful) envy that is both morally and prudentially bad is slowly altered. The details relevant for the normative assessment are changed, while the core psychological features are left untouched, so that in succession there is a case of envy that is morally bad but not prudentially bad (aggressive), a case of envy that is prudentially bad but not morally bad (inert), and finally a case of envy that is neither prudentially nor morally bad (emulative). Through the different variations, the emotional episode keeps satisfying all the conditions set out in the definition of envy, and thus should be recognized as such. The chapter ends by arguing that emulative envy can be a virtuous emotion, and highlighting the taxonomy’s implications for moral education.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • The Value of Envy
  • Sara Protasi, University of Puget Sound, Washington
  • Book: The Philosophy of Envy
  • Online publication: 01 July 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009007023.005
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  • The Value of Envy
  • Sara Protasi, University of Puget Sound, Washington
  • Book: The Philosophy of Envy
  • Online publication: 01 July 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009007023.005
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Value of Envy
  • Sara Protasi, University of Puget Sound, Washington
  • Book: The Philosophy of Envy
  • Online publication: 01 July 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009007023.005
Available formats
×