René Descartes on Émotion

Abstract

The primary aim of this discussion is to present a detailed case study of Descartes’s use of émotion in Les passions de l’ame and in his early writings leading up to that work. A secondary aim is to argue that that while Descartes was innovative in suggesting that émotion might be a better keyword for the affective sciences than passion, he did not consistently follow his own advice. His innovation therefore failed in that regard, even though it did inspire later thinkers to explore the distinction between ‘passion’ and ‘emotion’ in their own manner.