"Descartes' book on the passions is admirable, and shows that he was a great genius not only in geometry, but also in philosophy." -Blaise Pascal
A new 2024 translation directly from the original manuscripts into English of Descartes' famous work "The Passions of the Soul" (Les passions de l'ame). This edition contains a timeline of Descartes' life and works, a glossary of Cartesian terminology, and Afterword by the translator that explains the significance of Descartes' contributions to modern philosophy and science, particularly his method of skepticism and rationalism. This edition also contains the letters between Descartes and Pascal discussing this work, where Pascal urged Descarte to be more public and aggressive in publishing this work. Descartes' focus on clear, logical reasoning is a hallmark of his philosophy, and his influence on fields such as mathematics and physics is profound, with his work laying the foundation for later scientific advances. In Passions of the Soul, Descartes explores the nature of human emotions in an attempt to provide a mechanistic explanation of how the body and mind interact to produce passions. Descartes argues that passions, or emotions, are not solely the result of the mind, but are influenced by bodily processes. He defines passions as "perceptions, feelings, or emotions of the soul" that are caused, maintained, and intensified by the movement of animal spirits within the body. This physiological component is key to understanding Descartes' theory, as he views the body as a complex machine in which movements and changes in the brain, particularly in a gland he locates at the center (often interpreted as the pineal gland), influence emotions. For Descartes, passions are not purely mental, but arise from the interaction of the body with the mind, and he sees them as necessary to guide human action, although he believes they should be controlled by reason.