Envy
The Seven Deadly Sins
Published on 6. November 2003
Book
Hardback
144 pages
978-0-19-515812-0 (ISBN)
Description
Part of a series of highly entertaining books on the history of sinning.
While each of the other six deadly sins area a guilty pleasure, 'the green-eyed monster', as it is often called, is no fun. Jacob Epstein considers what the experts have written about envy, schadenfreude, and resentment, and how it operates under different political systems. Why is it so powerful that it can so easily overpower sense and caution? Could it ever be wiped from the map of humankind's nastier emotions? The author bravely offers his own experiences of envy, and his prescription for removing it from one's psychic economy. This is a refreshingly honest and very entertaining account of a very old sin.
While each of the other six deadly sins area a guilty pleasure, 'the green-eyed monster', as it is often called, is no fun. Jacob Epstein considers what the experts have written about envy, schadenfreude, and resentment, and how it operates under different political systems. Why is it so powerful that it can so easily overpower sense and caution? Could it ever be wiped from the map of humankind's nastier emotions? The author bravely offers his own experiences of envy, and his prescription for removing it from one's psychic economy. This is a refreshingly honest and very entertaining account of a very old sin.
Reviews / Votes
erudite and entertaining * Julian Baggini, The Guardian (Review) * 'Simon Blackburn on lust and Joseph Epstein on envy have produced little classics: written, researched and argued exemplarily, they take their topics seriously but discuss them with elegance and humour as well as insight. Francine Prose on gluttony joins them at the top of the list with a kind and thoughtful meditation.' * A.C. Grayling, Financial Times Magazine *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
7 line drawings
Dimensions
Height: 132 mm
Width: 185 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
255 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-515812-0 (9780195158120)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Joseph Epstein is the author of eighteen books, including Snobbery: The American Version, which was a New York Times Best Seller and Notable Book for 2002. His most recent books are Friendship, An Expose and Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy is Genius. He has also written roughly four hundred essays, stories, reviews, and articles in such publications as The New Yorker, Harper's, TLS, New Republic, Commentary,
New York Review of Books, New York Times Magazine, and others. He was the editor of The American Scholar for over twenty years and has taught at Northwestern University.
New York Review of Books, New York Times Magazine, and others. He was the editor of The American Scholar for over twenty years and has taught at Northwestern University.