Talk:Ressentiment

Page creation
I began this page when I used the term in another article (see Ainulindalë) and found that it did not link out. This was before I was a member with a logon.

I would love to see this page expanded to meet the needs that this term demands, which clearly have not been met by me. I would also love to see a healthy dose of discussion on this page about any changes made, additions needed etc. black thorn of brethil 20:17, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

References Badly Needed
This article badly needs references to the primary litterature itself. 82.143.250.145 (talk) 15:55, 12 March 2010 (UTC)

Recent Edits
Nietzsche did not discuss ressentiment in Beyond Good and Evil. The birth of Christian morality is only an example (the best example) of the fruits of ressentiment, which term applies to all moral frameworks. Citations added. black thorn of brethil 21:58, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

On removing the Roman discussion: It is most likely misleading to equate the discussion of a province (Judea) and the complex workings of its religious elites in relation to Roman colonial overlords with "Judaism,"- a religion and tradition, especially when such a use seems to suggest the patently false belief that Nietzsche was anti-semitic. Walter Kauffman and others (I'll get the citations) show very clearly that Nietzsche's focus was more on the role of Christianity as personal politics and less on the religion or the mass of Christians themselves. Emphasizing that Jesus positioned himself in relation to the religious establishment of his day, as well as to the Romans, Nietszche is criticizing those using and altering these religious teachings via unacknowledged ressentiment.

In short, "Judea" is not short or a symbol for "Judaism" or "Jews." —Preceding unsigned comment added by Drewalanwalker (talk • contribs) 20:01, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Cleanup Apr-2006
Please someone clean this page up! Why wait 6 paragraphs to even define the term? Ewlyahoocom 12:34, 12 April 2006 (UTC)


 * Other than repositioning the definition, do you have any other suggestions for cleanup? - black thorn of brethil 20:44, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

"Since its inception, the concept of Ressentiment has had a tremendous impact on the field of psychology." Yes? And? This is the only sentence in the section! Totnesmartin 12:44, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Drewalanwalker (talk • contribs) 19:55, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Nietzsche Criticisms
Nietzsche does seem like someone who is probably removed from reality to an extent. Poor people don't hate rich people because they can generate wealth (and allocate more of it to themselves), but hate rich people because they are greedy (and, through nepotism, obtain wealth and power via non-meritocratic ways, for examples).

Nobody hates beauty (though people do hate those who gain monetary and material wealth allocation from beauty rather than through merit. Beauty is pretty, but it sure as hell ain't economic!  This is not true for strength, speed and intelligence, which are usually held to be economic).

Note, for humans, beauty, intelligence, et al. are supposed to be correlated roughly. What would Nietzsche make of this? Nukemason4 20:42, 16 April 2007 (UTC)
 * You seen to be asserting your personal speculations as if they are objective truths. I doubt if there have been any emprical studies backing-up your speculations. Also, you say beauty and IQ are "roughly" correlated: as far as I am aware, it is more correct to say that they are slightly correlated. 80.0.97.226 (talk) 00:52, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Yes, there does seem to be some logical fallacies in the assumption of 'ressentiment' by Nietzsche et al. I've been trying to find a more critical examination of this by academics (if there is any!) Has anybody got any references they could recommend? I think, if there are any, there should be a section on criticism of the idea of 'ressentiment'. Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.0.85.24 (talk) 19:55, August 28, 2007 (UTC)
 * Nietzsche thought that when the down-trodden eventually took power (as in The Genealogy of Morality), they were dissatisfied after their "victory" (and would never be satisfied), and this sense of lingering disappointment after long-awaited success he described as ressentiment. In his day the example was the French Revolution, with the liberated French of 1790 so dissatisfied that they continued the revolution to the Terror of 1793, and beyond.78.18.193.36 (talk) 14:01, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

New entry needed: "Adiaphoria"
I added the link to "adiaphoria" but it didn't work because the existing Wikipedia entry is for "adiaphora" which is apparently different. Who knew? :) Adiaphoria is defined as a medical term only, at dictionary.com.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Markus451 (talk • contribs) 20:54, 21 December 2010 (UTC)

Opening paragraph is atrocious
Could someone who knows the topic write an introduction in a way that actually explains the concept? I really don't know what I'm looking at here. Is the idea of "ressentiment" supposed to be that there are detailed patterns of reaction which are essentially bound to the basic emotion of resentment, or that "ressentiment" is a pattern of reaction which sometimes springs from resentment, or is it, as it might well be based on the quality of this non explanation, something else entirely?

A proper explanation also needs to distinguish between laying out an idea, and speaking in NPOV, not to directly assert the idea's perspective, as wikipedia's. I encourage the writer of the paragraph in question to reflect on whether they are actually capable of writing outlines, and if not to refrain from doing so in future. 93.89.248.229 (talk) 16:08, 28 March 2016 (UTC)