Treatment of the Passions in the Moral Philosophy of René Descartes
Treatment of the Passions in the Moral Philosophy of René Descartes

Summary/Abstract: Τhe article will examine the remedies proposed by René Descartes (1596-1650), in order to deal with unpleasant passions and their excesses, as highlighted in his last work, The Passions of the Soul (1649). In this work, Descartes attempts to reach the core of emotion and, with the help of physiology, to analyse it rationally. The aim of the French philosopher is deeply moral. The demand for a practical philosophy had occupied him since the Sixth Part of his emblematic Discourse on the Method (1637). In The Passions of the Soul this demand is satisfied. Our analysis shows that Descartes' ethics is one of action. Life requires decisions, regardless of their end result. With free will as the cornerstone of his ethical structure, Descartes will set up an educational system for regulating the passions. In dealing with this problem, Descartes opted for a «strategy of generosity». Generosity, the most important notion of Cartesian ethics and the primary remedy that Descartes suggests for useless desires, is a passion and turns into a virtue when passion becomes a habit.

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