The Passions of the Soul

This is Sister 3's entry for the Gallery / Writing Workshop mash-up.
The theme is 'Emotions'.


Renee Descartes defined the six primitive passions as love, hatred, joy, desire wonder and sadness. Any other emotion, he said, is a combination of those six, of varying intensity. Although Descartes did not think emotions should be eradicated, he believed, like the Stoics, that emotions could be mistaken, just like perceptions, and if they were they ought to be cured.

So when the Princess of Bohemia, his philosophical correspondent on the topic of mind and body for over six years, contracted a low fever, Descartes blamed it on depression and recommended she read the Stoic Seneca, all the while reflecting on how much stronger the mind is than the body.
Surprisingly, it didn't go down all that well.

Here are Sister 3's interpretations of Descartes' Passions:

Love

Hatred

Desire

Joy

Wonder

Sadness

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