I think hate is a natural response to that which makes a person feel vulnerable.
Like any emotion, I think it is neither good nor evil, however, like any emotion, if it is left uncontrolled it can be destructive. If it is understood and channeled it can be constructive.
If we use our hate to recognize the imperfections in ourselves, we can use it to grow.
So yes, embrace all your emotions, whether they be negative or positive, and seek to use them to become a better person.

I don't understand why you framed your question like "what triggers hate?". It implies that you know what is hate.

I'm struggling to understand the emotion itself. Not that I haven't felt it myself. I ain't a saint. However, an interesting fact or factoid, if you haven't already noticed, is that the things that trigger your hate are rather obvious truths about reality. Don't you hate it when you can't find the keys to the car and you're late for an important meeting? Murphy's law says if something can go wrong it will. Not exactly scientific but you get the point.

We can now wade into human territory - the domain in which hate can reach it's most hideous form. Here too, the causes are rather obvious truths about, in this case, human nature. Psychology and sociology may be able to help us understand the origins of hate, what abets and perpetuates it. Presumably most explanations will invariably point the finger at human nature.

Given this is so, it's liberating to realize that this "negative" emotion (evolutionary theorists may disagree) is irrational because the world and human nature aren't going to change anytime soon. Why hate a truth? Should you embrace it? Do you like truth that much?

If Derrida is right about claiming that there is only "différance", then "love" is only possible in terms of its other which is "hatred". Should we therefore be thankful for the existence of the phenomenon "hatred"? After all, arguing in this vein, it makes the existence of "love" possible! Or ……….?

What triggers Hate? Do you embrace it?

Is hate a good or evil attribute for us to have?

Is it a Yin that we must have, to go with our Yang, --- to be at our best? — Gnostic Christian Bishop

I don’t find that love and hate mutually necessitate each other. Up and down, or left and right, these are dyads where the presence of one necessitates the presence of the other; the two are in truth two aspects of the same given. However, if hate is extreme dislike - that can lead to enmity and, in turn, hostility toward that which is hated - then hatred will always necessitate some type and degree of self-love from whose reference point the dislike commences. In other words, it is impossible to hate in the complete absence of love.

To first clarify: One’s love of oneself – of whatever type or degree – is a requisite for the living of life. Devoid of any iota of self-love, life would terminate – be it out of apathy or due to more forceful reasons. This same self-love can, via empathy and the like, be to varying extents then expanded to include others ... I'd say almost as an extended self, such that love of other, imo, is itself impossible without some form of love of self. While this is debatable and can easily lead to complexities, my main point here is that even egotistic love is a form of love. Albeit, a rather base variant of it.

That said, take any particular moment of one’s life. When one has hated some given one has always also loved some other given. Even self-hatred stands in relation to an ideal of one’s self - of what one's self should be - that is loved, here broadly speaking. However, there are at least some occasions when one has loved some given in the complete absence of any sensed hatred. Love can exist just fine in absence of hatred and, depending on perspective, can be argued to best thrive when hatred is absent.

So, in short, love devoid of hate can be experienced. Hate devoid of love cannot. The two don’t necessitate each other as do the dyads of, for example, up and down.

To the first question: Hatred then is triggered from a desire to defend that which is loved. This typically self-defense doesn't need to be physical; most often it is not. As an aside, one can well defend oneself physically against a physical attack in the absence of experienced hatred.

As to embracing hatred – here solely interpreted as extreme dislike – if one doesn’t embrace an extreme dislike for injustice, for instance, one will more likely than not be or else become unjust. So, to me, the merits of embracing hatred are very much contingent upon what hatreds one holds.

What triggers Hate? Do you embrace it? — Gnostic Christian Bishop

I don't embrace hate, it is very hard for me to hate. I don't think I've ever felt hatred or have the potential to. For me personally, that'd require a prolonged delusion disconnected from reality for too long. Most people that truly suffer from "hate" require extended periods of CBT. I don't buy anyone else trying to cough up religious or unethical rationalizations for hate or make up some unnecessarily complex response for it, either.

It is pure stupidity and a product of the most primitive part of the brain; (which are usually the stupid parts).

Is hate a good or evil attribute for us to have? — Gnostic Christian Bishop

Hate is self-defeatist. It is not good for the participant nor does not make anyone's life easier to live. "Evil" is just Christian stuff. The opposite of good is not evil.

We have biases to protect us. Should we not embrace and celebrate them all, be they good or evil? — Gnostic Christian Bishop

Embracing biases is almost like embracing willful ignorance. If you have the means, the options, and the tools to mitigate, lessen and reduce certain biases, why "embrace" them...?

As for celebrate, I mean, sure. You can still support the reduction of biases while enjoying how pretty the blue sky looks.

Born with a criminal mind and a delinquent attitude, I have likely worked harder to learn why I should love myself than most. — Gnostic Christian Bishop

Also, go easy on yourself. Criminal minds are not "born" and biological positivism is controversially not that popular among many Criminologists. Criminals and delinquents are not the same. I don't know what you mean by 'delinquent attitude' - maybe you meant 'deviant'?

You sound well beyond a minor/teen.

Embracing biases is almost like embracing willful ignorance. — Swan

Do you not embrace your own bias against hate?

I'd guess that the key ingredient in hatred is a feeling of inadequacy: the last person I can recall hating seriously was our PE master, who used to make me touch my toes, so that he could hit me with a plimsoll when I couldn't or - once - kick my arse, at which point I thumped him and it stopped. I don't think anyone can be overcome by pointlessly negative feelings unless reverting to childhood powerlessness.

Is hate a good or evil attribute for us to have? — Gnostic Christian Bishop

I think this depends. When does the hate come up? Is it habitual - iow are there other emotions we have a harder time facing, so we convert fear or grief or confusion to rage? Is it a response to rage? I do believe it is good for me to accept my rage and hate, though often I am looking to see what may be underneath, if it seems like I am avoidng something I find more unpleasant.

Jesus said to love ourselves. That would include embracing our evil side. — Gnostic Christian Bishop

I agree with the spirit of this, but I don't consider hate evil.

Re the answers so far, it seems like we're overlooking things like hating particular TV commercials, songs, etc.

I wouldn't say that there's just one type of hate or just one thing that triggers it.

I also wouldn't say that it's something to be neurotic about when you feel hatred towards something. Acknowledge it, analyze it, express your thoughts about it.

What I have a problem with is certain negative actions connected to hate, such as the initiation of nonconsensual violence.

Just take a PSYCH class. This is not complex stuff. The word is overused, anyway. Most things are just preferences, dislikes and semantic twaddle. Hate might as well be about as meaningful as a curse word.

I just think you shouldn't view bias with such discomfort and try to run away from it as from your own shadow.

I don't think I've ever felt hatred or have the potential to. — Swan

Oh, come on. Really? I don't believe that for a second.

I'm more on Swan's side than not - hatred is a mere silly self-indulgence, even if it's only for adverts and such. For grown-up apes, the question is what do we want to do about things that don't seem right, and such questions are best not approached in a state of childish emotionalism.

What triggers Hate? Do you embrace it? Is hate a good or evil attribute for us to have? — Gnostic Christian Bishop

Since the emotion of hate exists, it must have some kind of useful survival value. Just like all emotions, however, you will need to remain in control of them, because otherwise they could end up controlling you.

"In order to truly hate others, you must first learn to hate thy own self."

I agree with the spirit of this, but I don't consider hate evil. — Coben

SOMEthing must be evil. Or else it's a word coined by evil-minded people who wanted to release the evil of meaningless concepts on mankind.

Or cofused minded people. We make mistakes. But in any case I don't think hate is evil. I think it hate can be horrible and many acts justifed by hate are horrible. But I am focused on the feeling

Or cofused minded people. We make mistakes. — Coben

I guess I had slipped into a pre-post modernist stance. Yikes.

Or cofused minded people. We make mistakes. — Coben

True.

I learned a long time ago, and taught many people this (at least two people internalized it):

"Never attribute to malice what you can explain away with stupidity."

Just take a PSYCH class. — Swan

True.

Or take an English Lit class. Or just simply listen to what people say.

"I hate it when the streetcar cuts off my left leg."

"I hate it when the ambulance driver sounds the siren more than s/he should."

"I hate it when people don't pull over when they hear an ambulance."

"I hate it when I have to pull over for an ambulance."

"I hate it when they put celery in my stew."

"I hate celery."

"I hate it when people put a space after a word before an immediately following dot, semi-colon, period, or other marks."

I hate it when people don't listen to and ignore the nuances of the language.

I'm more on Swan's side than not - hatred is a mere silly self-indulgence, even if it's only for adverts and such. For grown-up apes, the question is what do we want to do about things that don't seem right, and such questions are best not approached in a state of childish emotionalism. — iolo

But whether or not you do hate is an entirely different question to whether or not you should hate. And Swan is completely wrong to think that she's never felt hatred or even has the potential to. That's so unrealistic as to be incredible. You would have to be delusional to actually believe that.

I think there's some truth in that, but there is also a lot of malice out there, and sometimes in here.

I think there's some truth in that, but there is also a lot of malice out there, and sometimes in here. — Coben

And a lot of stupidity. For example, I once encountered someone who suggested that it would be true that the shape of our planet is hexagonal, so long as the theory was useful enough in terms of predictive power and so on.

And a lot of stupidity. For example, I once encountered someone who suggested that it would be true that our planet is hexagonal — S

Give the guy some credit, S. He wasn't too far off the mark -- after all, the planet's practically all gone hexadecimal.

Give the guy some credit, S. — god must be atheist

No can do. I'm too full of malice, you see.

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If Derrida is right about claiming that there is only "différance", then "love" is only possible in terms of its other which is "hatred". Should we therefore be thankful for the existence of the phenomenon "hatred"? After all, a — Daniel C

Perhaps love is only possible if we understand what hatred is--which doesn't mean we have to indulge in it. To feel hatred may be enough for most of us, without having to perform it.

And let's not pretend that we can't reduce biases. That is literally all my post said; you're the one saying I'm the superhuman immune to biases, not me. I claimed no such thing. I claimed if you have the means, the tools, and the resources, you should probably aim to reduce biases. If you don't, then you don't. But don't go around making dogmatic statements like "willful ignorance" is all we've got going for us or something, since that's obviously not true.

Yeah, sorry. Some people genuinely have other things to do than feel intense hatred for foreign objects, TV shows and random people they don't even know. If you seriously hate television I suggest getting some therapy; it's only a matter of time before a heart attack via stress takes you, and to be honest, it's not worth it going out over a TV show.

And a lot of stupidity. For example, I once encountered someone who suggested that it would be true that the shape of our planet is hexagonal, so long as the theory was useful enough in terms of predictive power and so on. — S

What an amazing coincidence. I remember a guy presuming that the idea that the earth is hexagonal has predictive value as part of a strawman argument rather than using the actual, non-strawman argument presented in the post he was responding to. The sad thing is the guy who presumed that is not stupid. I used to think it was malice, but the tragedy is it's neither malice nor stupidity.
He's, reliving his childhood.

Exactly. There is nothing complex about anger or rage. It's the most primitive knuckle-dragging ape-like thing there is. There is definitely nothing intellectual about it. Trying to gloss up random hatred as some complex philosophical preponderance of thought is just complicated what it is.

Most people that genuinely feel hatred are behind bars for crimes of passion, performing ethnic cleanses or going through intense CBT - they are not Zen meditating about it through intellectual discussions. Yeah, no person here probably actually hates anything, seriously. Hating a color or the flavor of a food is not even remotely close to hatred. The word "hate" these days is barely even meaningful anymore.

That guy claiming disliking alphabet soup is "hatred" is actually laughable and OP is probably some sweet guy that did a thing and thought something terrible once.

Also, noted, S, that you have to be that guy calling people with different opinions and diverse ways of going about life and dealing with emotions (that needn't result to "hatred"), on a discussion forum for philosophy "delusional" ... what a way to be.