Hatred and kindness
At the root of all of our emotions is a desire for happiness, meaning a desire for God himself. Unpleasant, negative emotions like hate are no exception.
At the root of all of our emotions is a desire for happiness, meaning a desire for God himself. Unpleasant, negative emotions like hate are no exception.
Hate, most simply, is an inclination away from evil or an aversion from what we perceive to be harmful to us. Note that the emotion of hate is not the same as the vice of hatred, and when we feel the emotion of hate we often feel other emotions with it.
When we feel hate, we feel a dissonance with what we perceive to be bad for us, which can help us avoid danger. For example, after eating a full meal, I may feel aversion to lasagna— no matter how much I like lasagna— because I perceive it is not good for me to eat so much when I am already full. We only hate something because it is an obstacle between us and something we want or love. In the example with the lasagna, a feeling of hate helps direct us toward the good of physical health, which is something good we want, by helping us to avoid that obstacle to physical health.
However, emotions such as hate don’t always direct us toward what is truly good. Not everything we perceive as good for us is truly good for us, and not everything we perceive as bad for us is truly bad for us. This is because according to St. Thomas Aquinas, emotions require the guidance of reason to direct us toward what is truly good. Sometimes our emotions can overwhelm reason such that we are “blinded” by an emotion like hate.
We also recall that our emotions come under the guidance of reason through the cultivation of virtue. St. Aloysius Gonzaga is an example of overcoming hate through the virtue of kindness. During the 16th century, young Aloysius was asked to serve victims of the plague. He confided to his spiritual director that he felt revolted by this task and those suffering with the plague– we can imagine that he felt hate, among other emotions. However, Aloysius recognized that the plague victims were children of God in need of care, and he chose not to act out of emotion but rather the virtue of kindness to serve them, and he served them with great love. When we experience the emotion of hate that is an obstacle to a greater good, we can too choose kindness!
Sister Miriam MacLean, RSM
Whole & Holy is written by a member of the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Michigan. The Sisters were founded in 1973 in the Diocese of Saginaw and are committed to providing comprehensive healthcare. The Sisters contributing to this column are trained in fields such as social work, psychiatry, and social work. They strive to provide excellent healthcare through the professional training they receive and are sustained in their work through their common life of prayer.