History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

Episode 474: "States of the Union: Descartes on the Passions"

Host: Peter Adamson
Date: July 20, 2025

Brief Overview

In this episode, Peter Adamson explores René Descartes’ final philosophical work, Passions of the Soul (1649), focusing on Descartes’ analysis of human emotions, or “passions,” and their role in the relationship between mind and body. Drawing on correspondence with Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia, Adamson discusses Descartes' nuanced move away from rigid dualism, his engagement with earlier philosophical traditions, and his original insights into emotion, memory, self-control, and ethical living.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Six Fundamental Passions (01:10)

• Wonder, Love, Hatred, Desire, Joy, Sadness: Descartes identifies these as the six fundamental emotional responses from which all others derive.
  • Example: Adamson uses a cinema experience to illustrate all six emotions in sequence.

2. Context & Purpose of Passions of the Soul (03:20)

• Prompted by Princess Elizabeth: Descartes wrote this late treatise in response to Elizabeth’s questions about the emotional life.
• "Plugging the gap": The work attempts to remedy earlier omissions in Descartes’ account of mind-body relations, especially regarding emotions.

3. Bodies, Souls, and the Nature of Passions (05:08)

• Definition: Descartes defines passions as perceptions or emotions of the soul caused by bodily movements.
  • “Passions are those perceptions, sensations or emotions of the soul which we refer particularly to it, that is to the soul, and which are caused, maintained and strengthened by some movement of the spirits.” (07:40)
• Comparison: Unlike Scholastics (e.g., Aquinas), Descartes denies a “non-rational soul”—emotions involve a physical process in the body registered by the soul as experience.

4. Physical Causes and the Role of Memory (10:54)

• Bodily Roots: Most passions are caused by motions of blood and “vital spirits” around the body (laughter as an example of joy).
• Memory’s Dual Nature: Memory, though seemingly mental, depends on physical "traces in the brain."
  • “If the brain doesn’t retain physical traces of the experiences, you can’t remember.” (15:30)
  • Anecdote: Descartes traces his own attraction to women with squints to a childhood crush (17:05).

5. Managing and Mastering the Passions (19:12)

• Self-Mastery: Wisdom and virtue lie in mastering passions, not in their elimination.
  • “It is on the passions alone that all the good and evil of this life depends, and that the chief use of wisdom lies in its teaching us to be masters of our passions and to control them with such skill that the evils which they cause are quite bearable and even become a source of joy.” (21:11)
• Detachment and Dryness: Descartes’ tone toward emotions, especially romantic love, is notably detached, almost clinical.
  • “[His] paragraph about romantic love may well be the least romantic thing ever written on the topic...” (22:20)

6. The Elizabeth Correspondence: Limits to Self-Control? (24:04)

• Elizabeth Pushes Back: She notes that emotional recovery can take months, not moments, despite all philosophical effort.
  • Quote: “Elizabeth says that several months can be needed for her to overcome a serious setback.” (25:00)
• Descartes’ Remedies: Suggests fostering positive passions, enjoying nature, and steeling oneself against misfortune.

7. The Usefulness and Limits of Passions (26:48)

• Utility of Emotions: Even negative passions can be useful (e.g., reasonable jealousy).
• Motivation, Not Just Information: Passions don’t convey truth about the world, but motivate action.
  • “...the passions move and dispose the soul to want the things for which they prepare the body.” (28:02)
• Moderation is Key: Desire for pleasures should not outweigh rational will (almond croissant example).

8. Passions and the Philosophy of Union (30:22)

• Challenge to Dualism: Passions seem to straddle the divide between body and soul.
• Coordination, Not Identity: For Descartes, passions arise from coordination between bodily and mental events, rather than being singular events crossing the substances.
• "Fleshes Out" Dualism: Passions of the Soul emphasizes the union of body and soul, aligning Descartes partly with Aristotelian thought (31:35).

9. Training Both Body and Mind (34:18)

• Practical Ethical Implication: To live well, one must “train both our bodies and our minds.”
  • The goal: “a good life for the whole human, not just satisfaction for the mind or a state of health and pleasure in the body.” (34:55)

10. Reception and Legacy (37:20)

• Deborah Brown's View: The Meditations depict a mind alienated from body and others, while Passions shows a mind embedded in the world.
  • “...the mind of the passions is one thoroughly embedded and better off because of it.” (38:01)
• Elizabeth’s Verdict: She praises the treatise as “the best thing ever written on the topic,” but finds his remedies hard to practice (39:22):
  • Elizabeth: “I find it much less difficult to understand all that you say on the passions than to practice the remedies you prescribe for their excesses.” (39:30)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Source of All Emotions:
  “You've just managed to experience all six of the emotional reactions or passions recognized by Descartes, namely wonder, love, hatred, desire, joy and sadness.” (01:04)

• On Mind-Body Unity:
  “Passions are then states of the union between soul and body. This is something any Aristotelian would readily agree to.” (08:47)

• On the Physical Side of Memory:
  “If you fold a soft sheet of rubber, you won't leave any creases in it. But to have memory, you also need to have the mental awareness of what has happened in the brain.” (15:52)

• On Emotional Self-Analysis:
  “In a letter to Chanute, Descartes described how he had a lifelong attraction to women with squints, which he traced back to a childhood infatuation...” (17:05)

• Detachment Toward Love:
  “His paragraph about romantic love may well be the least romantic thing ever written on the topic, and dryly finishes off by observing this inclination or desire provides writers of romances and poets with their principal subject matter.” (22:20)

• On the Challenge of Mastery:
  “I find it much less difficult to understand all that you say on the passions than to practice the remedies you prescribe for their excesses.” (Elizabeth, 39:30)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:04 — Descartes’ six passions introduced via cinema anecdote
• 05:08 — Passions as perceptions tied to the union of soul and body
• 10:54 — Physical processes underlying emotions and the role of memory
• 19:12 — Mastery of passions and the importance of wisdom
• 24:04 — Elizabeth’s pushback on the ease of emotional mastery
• 26:48 — The usefulness and motivational power of emotions
• 30:22 — The metaphysics: passions as challenges to dualism
• 34:55 — Ethical implications: training body and mind for a good life
• 38:01 — Modern interpretations; Deborah Brown’s and Elizabeth’s responses

Tone and Style

Adamson’s delivery is erudite yet accessible, mixing detailed philosophical exposition with dry humor and contemporary analogies (Buster Keaton, almond croissants). He presents Descartes’ theories sympathetically but without hagiography, highlighting both their innovation and their limitations. The episode maintains a reflective, sometimes playful tone, while amplifying the practical and existential stakes of philosophical inquiry.

Conclusion

Adamson’s discussion reveals Descartes as both a product of his time and a daring thinker who, by the end of his career, sought to reconcile the lived reality of emotion with his metaphysical commitments. The episode positions Passions of the Soul as a pivotal step in the Western philosophical understanding of emotions—a bridge between the ancient, medieval, and modern worlds—while acknowledging the persistent challenges of actually living wisely with our passions, as Elizabeth of Bohemia herself reminds us.