Passion and Virtue in Descartes Book

Just what is the nature of the passions as Descartes understood them? Does Descartes's analysis of the passions undercut his dualism? How do the passions both contribute to our good, and, if we are not careful, prevent us from recognizing it? How can the passions be regulated rationally? How do they affect our freedom? What does Descartes's highest moral type--the Cartesian sage--look like? Regrettably, philosophers have generally overlooked much of Descartes's later philosophical career. In the period following the publication in French of his groundbreaking work, MEDITATIONS, however, he was extremely eager to develop a comprehensive ethics, rooted in his analysis of human passions. His work in this area, later systemized in THE PASSIONS OF THE SOUL, grew out of a lengthy correspondence with Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia concerning the union of the mind and the body. PASSION AND VIRTUE IN DESCARTES is the first collection of essays dealing specifically with this aspect of Descartes's thinking, and is thus a valuable contribution to the critical literature on his philosophy as a whole. Since the PASSIONS provides us with the most sophisticated and extended discussion of the composite human being anywhere in Descarte's writings, this volume--divided into three sections, covering the PASSIONS, what is meant by "Cartesian passions," and Descartes's moral philosophy--is an indispensable aid to understanding the full scope of Cartesian anthropology. Many compelling questions and intriguing issues are addressed in ten original and insightful articles, by Descartes scholars Lisa Shapiro, Deborah Brown, Calvin Normore, Lilli Alanen, Jean-Marie Beyssade, Ronald de Sousa, Daisie Radner, John Marshall, Andre Gombay, Paul Hoffman, and Byron Williston.Read More