ABSTRACT
Many people think suffering happens for a reason: it does not, could not, befall us randomly. A belief about the presumed meaning of our suffering may increase or decrease its intensity. Just as we do, others are likely to adopt a belief about the meaning of our suffering. If suffering has no meaning, what I call Schadenfreude could not arise (because Schadenfreude relies on the belief that someone else deserves to suffer). If people did not think that Schadenfreude involves beliefs about justice, then no one could defend Schadenfreude as morally acceptable. In a sense, my defense perpetuates the problem of Schadenfreude, even enacts it. If the randomness of suffering could be proven once and for all, then no one could affirm the rationality of Schadenfreude.
