On the forms of resentment. Theoretical issues and directions for research|Sulle forme del risentimento Questioni teoriche e traiettorie di ricerca

This article critically re-examines philosophical debates on resentment and calls for a rethinking of its conceptualization beyond the dichotomy between hostile ressentiment and morally justified resentment. Rejecting accounts that frame resentment merely as an emotion or personality trait, it advances its redefinition as an attitude – an expressive, cognitive, and behavioral orientation informed by biographical experiences and sociocultural contexts. Building on this standpoint, the paper argues for the distinctive contribution sociology can offer by focusing on the morphological analysis of resentment’s concrete manifestations. It introduces a typological classification based on the intersection of action orientation (passive vs. proactive) and source (biographical, systemic, identity-based), yielding six analytically distinct forms of resentment, proposed as a heuristic tool for sociological analysis. The conclusion outlines key questions for future empirical research, thereby sketching possible trajectories for a systematic sociology of resentment.