The Passions of the Soul and Other Late Philosophical Writings Quotes

“For since, with a little well-directed effort, one can change the movements of the brain in animals devoid of reason, it is clear that this can be done even more successfully in human beings, and that even those who have the weakest souls could acquire a very absolute command of all their passions, if one were to take the trouble to train them and guide them properly.”
― René Descartes, The Passions of the Soul and Other Late Philosophical Writings

“ART. 17. The functions of the soul Having thus considered all the functions that pertain to the body alone, it is easy to recognize that there remains nothing in us that we should ascribe to the soul except our thoughts, of which there are two main kinds: the actions of the soul and its passions. By its actions I mean all our volitions, since we experience these as coming directly from our soul, and as apparently depending on it alone. Whereas, on the other hand, the term ‘passions’ can be applied in general to all the kinds of perception or knowledge to be found within us, because it is often not our soul that makes them what they are, and because they are always produced in us by the things they represent.”
― René Descartes, The Passions of the Soul and Other Late Philosophical Writings

“The passions, then, can be defined as ‘perceptions, or sensations, or emotions of the soul that we refer (rapportons) particularly to the soul itself, and that are caused, sustained, and fortified by some movement of the spirits’ (§27).”
― René Descartes, The Passions of the Soul and Other Late Philosophical Writings