Even the smartest, most enlightened humans are doomed to suffer from envy and jealousy. Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) analysed the problem and came up with an imperfect solution. He spent considerable time reflecting about this matter, but his deficient logic prevented him from seeing the truth.
I consider it important to study Seneca’s philosophy on this issue, and see where he went wrong exactly. Understanding his error is a prerequisite for finding the correct solution, one that works in real life.
Why did Seneca oppose envy and jealousy? He spelled out his reasons in his dialogue “On the Happy Life.” The problem with envy and jealousy, explained Seneca, is that they generate “double suffering.”
In the first place, the victims suffer because of their failures, setbacks and unfulfilled desires. Secondly, victims will render their emotional suffering more acute by comparing themselves with successful people.
Victims of envy and jealousy feel doubly mistreated by life. Not only have they failed to achieve their goals, but on top of that, they must witness how other people, often less deserving, appear to have been blessed by luck.
Seneca analysed the problem and blamed it on the victims, that is, on their unfulfilled desires. Envy and jealousy wouldn’t exist, he reasoned, if people felt content with their station in life.
Seneca: the root cause of envy and jealousy
Let’s ponder Seneca’s conclusion for a second. If people did not look beyond their nose, they would not see possibilities for improvement and would not feel envious of others, deservedly or not.
They would not feel the emotional pain of defeat, inferiority and discontent. They wouldn’t regard other people’s success as unfair because they would remain unaware of what’s going on in the world.
Even Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) had suffered from unfulfilled desires, argues Seneca in his 9th Letter to Lucilius. I find this argument particularly spurious, but let’s take it at face value, so that we can assess Seneca’s logic.
If we trust the anecdote, after conquering most of the known world, Alexander was complaining that he had no more worlds to conquer. He regarded himself as the greatest conqueror in history, and regretted that he could not become even greater.
Seneca attributes Alexander’s unhappiness to his ambitions. If Alexander had contented himself with his achievements, he would have been happier, argued Seneca. He then extrapolates the principle to people suffering from envy and jealousy.
In the 9th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca condenses this principle by affirming that “our ambitions make us poor.” He states that we could get rid of our feelings of poverty if we just accept our station in life and forget about our ambitions.
Seneca: the remedy to envy and jealousy
Renunciation is Seneca’s solution to every problem. Let’s be content with what we already have and give up our dreams, he recommends. We should narrow down our vision to our current situation and accept our limitations as insurmountable, he says repeatedly.
His dialogue “On the Happy Life” warns readers against the danger of becoming enslaved by wealth. Similarly, his work “Consolation to Helvia” views insatiable ambitions as harmful.
However, Seneca’s appraisal of ambition, envy and jealousy overlooks their positive aspects. Seneca ignores the connection between ambition and happiness, and envy and motivation. He also remains blind to the connection between jealousy and self-improvement.
Seneca’s views are markedly negative. He does not perceive anything positive in ambition, envy and jealousy. Except for a few cases, his examples stress the destructiveness of ambition, and the suffering inflicted by envy and jealousy.
By mentioning the foolish ambition of Crassus (115-53 BC) in pursuit of military honours, Seneca considered it proven that ambitions, with rare exceptions, are harmful. That’s the central argument of Seneca’s essay “On the Shortness of Life.”
A crucial aspect overlooked by Seneca
Aristotle (384-322 BC) wouldn’t have agreed with Seneca’s blanket condemnation of ambition, envy and jealousy because, if we use those rationally, they can contribute to our personal growth.
Seneca rightly warned us against obsessive ambitions, envy and jealousy. King Dionysius I of Syracuse (432-367 BC) fell prey to obsessive emotions, recounts Seneca, became paranoid, and kept everybody at a distance, including also his family.
However, we should not forget the millions of individuals that have been prompted to work harder to pursue their dreams and improve their lives; their ambitions turned out to be strong motivators; they used envy and jealousy for a good purpose.
Had Seneca not studied Aristotle’s “Nicomachean Ethics”? I wonder how he could have failed to grasp that the Aristotelian concept of happiness relies on human thriving, not on passivity and renunciation.
In his dialogue “On Anger,” Seneca categorized envy as the enemy of happiness, but which happiness is he talking about? Serenity is a worthy goal, but most people regard happiness as more important than serenity.
Let’s employ ambitions, envy and jealousy to our advantage by interpreting them rationally. Let us use them as sources of motivation to work harder, do better, and improve our life. The passive acceptance proposed by Seneca cannot deliver the joys of true and complete happiness.
If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice, I recommend my books “The philosophy of builders” and “The 10 principles of rational living.”