Book contents
- The Cambridge Spinoza Lexicon
- The Cambridge Spinoza Lexicon
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Using this Lexicon
- Abbreviations
- A
- 1. Absolute (Metaphysical)
- 2. Absolute (Political)
- 3. Abstractions and Universals
- 4. Action and Passion
- 5. Adequacy
- 6. Affect
- 7. Affection
- 8. Affirmation
- 9. Agreement
- 10. Ambition
- 11. Animals
- 12. Animation
- 13. Apostle
- 14. Aristocracy
- 15. Attribute
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- Bibliography
- Index of Cross-References
- References
4. - Action and Passion
from A
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 January 2025
Book contents
- The Cambridge Spinoza Lexicon
- The Cambridge Spinoza Lexicon
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Using this Lexicon
- Abbreviations
- A
- 1. Absolute (Metaphysical)
- 2. Absolute (Political)
- 3. Abstractions and Universals
- 4. Action and Passion
- 5. Adequacy
- 6. Affect
- 7. Affection
- 8. Affirmation
- 9. Agreement
- 10. Ambition
- 11. Animals
- 12. Animation
- 13. Apostle
- 14. Aristocracy
- 15. Attribute
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- Bibliography
- Index of Cross-References
- References
Summary
Action (actio) and passion (passio) are technical concepts defined in E3def3. They refer to affects (emotions) and their division into two kinds. Action is a kind of affect which results from an “adequate or total” cause, that is to say, a cause whose nature alone explains the effect, while passion is a kind of affect which results from an “inadequate or partial” cause, that is to say, a cause the effects of which we cannot explain by referring only to its nature but must also refer to the natures of other things.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Spinoza Lexicon , pp. 11 - 13Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024
References
Recommended Reading
James, S. (1997). Passion and Action: The Emotions in Seventeenth-Century Philosophy. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Jaquet, C. (2018). Affects, Actions and Passions in Spinoza: The Unity of Body and Mind, trans. T. Reznichenko. Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar
Sangiacomo, A., & Nachtomy, O. (2018). “Spinoza’s rethinking of activity: From the Short Treatise to the Ethics.” Southern Journal of Philosophy, 56(1), 101–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yovel, Y. (ed). (1999). Desire and Affect: Spinoza as Psychologist. Little Room Press.Google Scholar
Wartofsky, M. W. (1979). “Action and passion: Spinoza’s construction of a scientific psychology.” In Wartofsky, , Models: Representation and the Scientific Understanding (pp. 183–97). Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar