Abstract

Envy has long been regarded a paradigmatic example of a vicious emotion. From Aquinas’ characterization of envy as a capital sin to more recent work in psychology and philosophy, envy has been portrayed as detrimental to the agent’s well-being and moral status. Is this negative picture of envy justified? In her book The Philosophy of Envy (2021), Sara Protasi tackles this question through a precise and psychologically informed journey into the nature of this emotion.