Download or read book When Bad Things Happen to Other People written by John Portmann and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2002-06-01 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although many of us deny it, it is not uncommon to feel pleasure over the suffering of others, particularly when we feel that suffering has been deserved. The German word for this concept-Schadenfreude-has become universal in its expression of this feeling. Drawing on the teachings of history's most prominent philosophers, John Portmann explores the concept of Schadenfreude in this rigorous, comprehensive, and absorbing study.