Wikipedia entry on the passions. First two sentences are from Spinoza’s Definitions. On the Origin and Nature of the Emotions, 1883.
“The body’s power is increased or diminished. Emotions are bodily changes plus ideas about these changes which can help or hurt a human.” It happens when the bodily changes we experience are caused primarily by external forces or by a mix of external and internal forces. Spinoza argued that it was much better for a person, himself or herself, to be the only adequate cause of bodily changes, and to act based on an adequate understanding of causes-and-effects with ideas of these changes logically related to each other and to reality; when this happens the person is active, and Spinoza describes the ideas as adequate.
January 1st, 1883 § Comments Off on “The body’s power is increased or diminished. Emotions are bodily changes plus ideas about these changes which can help or hurt a human.” It happens when the bodily changes we experience are caused primarily by external forces or by a mix of external and internal forces. Spinoza argued that it was much better for a person, himself or herself, to be the only adequate cause of bodily changes, and to act based on an adequate understanding of causes-and-effects with ideas of these changes logically related to each other and to reality; when this happens the person is active, and Spinoza describes the ideas as adequate. § permalink