Envy, propelled by fear, can be even more toxic than anger, because it involves the thought that other people enjoy the good things of life which the envier can't hope to attain through hard work and emulation.
Martha NussbaumRead
When we have emotions of fear and pity toward the hero of a tragedy, we explore aspects of our own vulnerability in a safe and pleasing setting.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Tragedies allow us to confront our vulnerabilities while feeling safe and connected through the emotions they evoke.
This quote by Martha Nussbaum suggests that when we empathize with the hero in a tragedy, we are not only feeling for their plight but also reflecting on our own vulnerabilities. The experience of engaging with tragic narratives creates a safe space for exploring deep emotional responses like fear and pity, ultimately prompting self-reflection and connecting us with universal human experiences.
Themes
EmotionsVulnerabilityTragedyHeroFearPity
In practice
Example use cases
In a literary discussion about the role of tragedy in shaping our understanding of human emotions.
More from Martha Nussbaum
All quotes βThis is true across every single society; we project grossness onto a racial or gender subgroup or caste. A big part of social subordination and discrimination is to ascribe hyper-animality to other groups and use that as an excuse for subordinating them further.
Martha NussbaumRead
Often, we feel helpless in lots of situations in our lives. The way anger gets a grip on us is it seems to be a way to extricate ourselves from helplessness.
Martha NussbaumRead
Courses in the humanities, in particular, often seem impractical, but they are vital, because they stretch your imagination and challenge your mind to become more responsive, more critical, bigger.
Martha NussbaumRead
I find so often, you know, just on a very mundane level; you've got a meeting and your child's acting in a school play. You can't do both things. And it's not simply that you can't do both, but whatever you do, you're going to be neglecting something that's really important.
Martha NussbaumRead
Look at the great tradition of Western political philosophy. Those people were all immersed in revolutionary movements. Most weren't career academics - often, they were too radical to be accepted in the academy. Rousseau's books were banned. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill couldn't hold academic positions because they were atheists.
Martha NussbaumRead
Similar quotes
We may now have reached a point where this gap in our make-up has become unsustainable; partly because what in the past would have counted as material plenty has become the norm for the majority in much of the world; and partly because the slow retreat of religion that coincided with the spread of a capitalist economy has left a gaping hole in millions of people's lives. (Geoff Mulgan)
Dalai LamaRead
Democracy is based on the assumption that a million men are wiser than one man. How's that again? I missed something.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn! Look to this Day! For it is Life, the very Life of Life. In its brief course lie all the Verities and Realities of your Existence. The Bliss of Growth, The Glory of Action, The Splendor of Beauty; For Yesterday is but a Dream, And To-morrow is only a Vision; But To-day well lived makes Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness, And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope. Look well therefore to this Day! Such is the Salutation of the Dawn!
KalidasaRead
Liberty is always freedom from the government.
Ludwig Von MisesRead
A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law, or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.
Martin Luther King, Jr.Read
I was supposed to be waiting up here when you got back, only your Phoenix lot got in the way...β βYes, they do that,β said Dumbledore.
J. K. RowlingRead