Commonly Confused Concepts

Many of the commonly confused concepts below are confused because of the way they are used colloquially. Understanding the differences will help you decode the meaning behind what you read and hear.

Jealousy and Envy

• Jealousy is a feeling triggered by a perceived threat to something you have by an outside party
• Envy is the desire to deprive someone of something that they have

See: Envy and Jealousy

Anger and Rage

• Anger is the emotion that comes from frustration
• Rage is emotion that is triggered by a threat to one’s identity

Guilt and Shame

• Guilt is feeling bad for having done something, comes from within
• Shame is an emotion related to your perception of how others view you or the group you are a part of

Sympathy and Empathy

• Sympathy is feeling bad for someone else
• Empathy is feeling what the other person is feeling

Courage and Bravery

• Courage is the ability to do something that frightens you
• Bravery is courage in the face of the possibility of bodily harm

Intelligence and Wisdom

• Intelligence is knowing how to get what you want
• Wisdom is knowing what to want

Ethics and Morals

• Ethics dictates what people should do (normative)
• Morals describes what is good or bad, right or wrong (descriptive)

Morality, Ethicality, Legality and Ability

• Morality is one’s subjective sense of right and wrong
• Ethicality is a description whether or not something should be done
• Legality outlines what is and isn’t allowed
• Ability is what you can and can’t do

Proxy-Target Relationships

Proxy listed first, target listed second. Proxies here serve as more concrete or measurable representations of their targets.

Price and Value

• Price is what someone is willing to accept in exchange for a good or service
• Value is subjective importance one places on something

Legality and Morality

• Legality outlines what you are and aren’t allowed to do
• Morality describes what is right or wrong