Hate

It is easy to hate, there is no apparent reason for that, but sometimes we feel hatred, but is it really hatred? Maybe it is something we don’t like, we aren’t keen to, or we find disgusting, or sometimes we feel impotent. But hatred?

Since ancient times hate was conceived as Confucius said: «hate is like drinking poison and expect the other to die», it is useless and without a reason. But many people are driven by hate or they say they hate something they dislike, but it is not hate what we mean, or is it?

We hate because we think and believe we can fix it by getting revenge; we hope that we will solve our problem and that is why we hate. The cause of hatred can be from different actions towards us as Aristotle explains:

• When he is not respected by his inferiors in birth

• When mocked in capacity

• When someone shows goodness

• Generally in anything in which he is much their superior: as where money, where speaking is concerned, the ruler demands the respect of the ruled, and the man who thinks he ought to be a ruler demands the respect of the man whom he thinks he ought to be ruling, those who he thinks owe him good treatment.

As we can see there are many reasons to be angry and hate, to whom and why. “The frame of mind is that of one in which any pain is being felt. (1379a)” Men always aim for something, so there is the need of a cause to feel anger. For example: “people who are afflicted by sickness or poverty or love or thirst or any other unsatisfied desires (1379a)” and in general people are angry of what they want and are still waiting for.

Hatred is a feeling that may unite people that hate the same thing, but it doesn’t solve anything because it is a feeling that belongs to the person that feels it instead of an actuall problem. So why hate?