Part III
On the Origin and Nature of the Emotions
The origin and nature of the emotions, derived geometrically from the conatus — each thing's striving to persist in its own being.
Preface(1)
Definitions(3)
E3D1By an adequate cause, I mean a cause through which its effect can be clearly and distinctly perceived. By an inadequate…E3D2I say that we act when anything takes place, either within us or externally to us, whereof we are the adequate cause;…E3D3By emotion I mean the modifications of the body, whereby the active power of the said body is increased or diminished,…
Postulates(2)
Propositions(59)
E3P1Our mind is in certain cases active, and in certain cases passive. In so far as it has adequate ideas it is necessarily…E3P2Body cannot determine mind to think, neither can mind determine body to motion or rest or any state different from…E3P3The activities of the mind arise solely from adequate ideas; the passive states of the mind depend solely on inadequate…E3P4Nothing can be destroyed, except by a cause external to itself.E3P5Things are naturally contrary, that is, cannot exist in the same object, in so far as one is capable of destroying the…E3P6Everything, in so far as it is in itself, endeavours to persist in its own being.E3P7The endeavour, wherewith everything endeavours to persist in its own being, is nothing else but the actual essence of…E3P8The endeavour, whereby a thing endeavours to persist in its own being, involves no finite time, but an indefinite time.E3P9The mind, both in so far as it has clear and distinct ideas, and also in so far as it has confused ideas, endeavours to…E3P10An idea, which excludes the existence of our body, cannot be postulated in our mind, but is contrary thereto.E3P11Whatsoever increases or diminishes, helps or hinders the power of activity in our body, the idea thereof increases or…E3P12The mind, as far as it can, endeavours to conceive those things, which increase or help the power of activity in the…E3P13When the mind conceives things which diminish or hinder the body's power of activity, it endeavours, as far as…E3P14If the mind has once been affected by two emotions at the same time, it will, whenever it is afterwards affected by one…E3P15Anything can, accidentally, be the cause of pleasure, pain, or desire.E3P16Simply from the fact that we conceive, that a given object has some point of resemblance with another object which is…E3P17If we conceive that a thing, which is wont to affect us painfully, has any point of resemblance with another thing…E3P18A man is as much affected pleasurably or painfully by the image of a thing past or future as by the image of a thing…E3P19He who conceives that the object of his love is destroyed will feel pain; if he conceives that it is preserved he will…E3P20He who conceives that the object of his hate is destroyed will also feel pleasure.E3P21He who conceives, that the object of his love is affected pleasurably or painfully, will himself be affected…E3P22If we conceive that anything pleasurably affects some object of our love, we shall be affected with love towards that…E3P23He who conceives, that an object of his hatred is painfully affected, will feel pleasure. Contrariwise, if he thinks…E3P24If we conceive that anyone pleasurably affects an object of our hate, we shall feel hatred towards him also. If we…E3P25We endeavour to affirm, concerning ourselves, and concerning what we love, everything that we can conceive to affect…E3P26We endeavour to affirm, concerning that which we hate, everything which we conceive to affect it painfully; and,…E3P27By the very fact that we conceive a thing, which is like ourselves, and which we have not regarded with any emotion, to…E3P28We endeavour to bring about whatsoever we conceive to conduce to pleasure; but we endeavour to remove or destroy…E3P29We shall also endeavour to do whatsoever we conceive men[6] to regard with pleasure, and contrariwise we shall shrink…E3P30If anyone has done something which he conceives as affecting other men pleasurably, he will be affected by pleasure,…E3P31If we conceive that anyone loves, desires, or hates anything which we ourselves love, desire, or hate, we shall…E3P32If we conceive that anyone takes delight in something, which only one person can possess, we shall endeavour to bring…E3P33When we love a thing similar to ourselves we endeavour, as far as we can, to bring about that it should love us in…E3P34The greater the emotion with which we conceive a loved object to be affected towards us, the greater will be our…E3P35If anyone conceives, that an object of his love joins itself to another with closer bonds of friendship than he himself…E3P36He who remembers a thing, in which he has once taken delight, desires to possess it under the same circumstances as…E3P37Desire arising through pain or pleasure, hatred or love, is greater in proportion as the emotion is greater.E3P38If a man has begun to hate an object of his love, so that love is thoroughly destroyed, he will, causes being equal,…E3P39He who hates anyone will endeavour to do him an injury, unless he fears that a greater injury will thereby accrue to…E3P40He, who conceives himself to be hated by another, and believes that he has given him no cause for hatred, will hate…E3P41If anyone conceives that he is loved by another, and believes that he has given no cause for such love, he will love…E3P42He who has conferred a benefit on anyone from motives of love or honour will feel pain, if he sees that the benefit is…E3P43Hatred is increased by being reciprocated, and can on the other hand be destroyed by love.E3P44Hatred which is completely vanquished by love passes into love: and love is thereupon greater than if hatred had not…E3P45If a man conceives, that anyone similar to himself hates anything also similar to himself, which he loves, he will hate…E3P46If a man has been affected pleasurably or painfully by anyone, of a class or nation different from his own, and if the…E3P47Joy arising from the fact, that anything we hate is destroyed, or suffers other injury, is never unaccompanied by a…E3P48Love or hatred towards, for instance, Peter is destroyed, if the pleasure involved in the former, or the pain involved…E3P49Love or hatred towards a thing, which we conceive to be free, must, other conditions being similar, be greater than if…E3P50Anything whatever can be, accidentally, a cause of hope or fear.E3P51Different men may be differently affected by the same object, and the same man may be differently affected at different…E3P52An object which we have formerly seen in conjunction with others, and which we do not conceive to have any property…E3P53When the mind regards itself and its own power of activity, it feels pleasure: and that pleasure is greater in…E3P54The mind endeavours to conceive only such things as assert its power of activity.E3P55When the mind contemplates its own weakness, it feels pain thereat.E3P56There are as many kinds of pleasure, of pain, of desire, and of every emotion compounded of these, such as vacillations…E3P57Any emotion of a given individual differs from the emotion of another individual, only in so far as the essence of the…E3P58Besides pleasure and desire, which are passivities or passions, there are other emotions derived from pleasure and…E3P59Among all the emotions attributable to the mind as active, there are none which cannot be referred to pleasure or…
Definitions of the Emotions(49)
Spinoza's catalogue of forty-eight emotions, derived from the three primary affects — desire, pleasure, and pain — together with a general definition appended at the end.
E3DA1Desire is the actual essence of man, in so far as it is conceived, as determined to a particular activity by some given…E3DA2Pleasure is the transition of a man from a less to a greater perfection.E3DA3Pain is the transition of a man from a greater to a less perfection.
Explanation: I say transition: for pleasure is…E3DA4Wonder is the conception (imaginatio) of anything, wherein the mind comes to a stand, because the particular concept in…E3DA5Contempt is the conception of anything which touches the mind so little, that its presence leads the mind to imagine…E3DA6Love is pleasure, accompanied by the idea of an external cause.
Explanation: This definition explains sufficiently…E3DA7Hatred is pain, accompanied by the idea of an external cause.
Explanation: These observations are easily grasped after…E3DA8Inclination is pleasure, accompanied by the idea of something which is accidentally a cause of pleasure.E3DA9Aversion is pain, accompanied by the idea of something which is accidentally the cause of pain (cf. III. xv. note).E3DA10Devotion is love towards one whom we admire.
Explanation: Wonder (admiratio) arises (as we have shown, III. lii.) from…E3DA11Derision is pleasure arising from our conceiving the presence of a quality, which we despise, in an object which we…E3DA12Hope is an inconstant pleasure, arising from the idea of something past or future, whereof we to a certain extent doubt…E3DA13Fear is an inconstant pain arising from the idea of something past or future, whereof we to a certain extent doubt the…E3DA14Confidence is pleasure arising from the idea of something past or future, wherefrom all cause of doubt has been removed.E3DA15Despair is pain arising from the idea of something past or future, wherefrom all cause of doubt has been…E3DA16Joy is pleasure accompanied by the idea of something past, which has had an issue beyond our hope.E3DA17Disappointment is pain accompanied by the idea of something past, which has had an issue contrary to our hope.E3DA18Pity is pain accompanied by the idea of evil, which has befallen someone else whom we conceive to be like ourselves…E3DA19Approval is love towards one who has done good to another.E3DA20Indignation is hatred towards one who has done evil to another.
Explanation: I am aware that these terms are employed…E3DA21Partiality is thinking too highly of anyone because of the love we bear him.E3DA22Disparagement is thinking too meanly of anyone because we hate him.
Explanation: Thus partiality is an effect of love,…E3DA23Envy is hatred, in so far as it induces a man to be pained by another's good fortune, and to rejoice in another's evil…E3DA24Sympathy (misericordia) is love, in so far as it induces a man to feel pleasure at another's good fortune, and pain at…E3DA25Self--approval is pleasure arising from a man's contemplation of himself and his own power of action.E3DA26Humility is pain arising from a man's contemplation of his own weakness of body or mind.
Explanation:…E3DA27Repentance is pain accompanied by the idea of some action, which we believe we have performed by the free decision of…E3DA28Pride is thinking too highly of one's self from self--love.
Explanation: Thus pride is different from partiality, for…E3DA29Self--abasement is thinking too meanly of one's self by reason of pain.
Explanation: We are nevertheless generally…E3DA30Honour[11] is pleasure accompanied by the idea of some action of our own, which we believe to be praised by…E3DA31Shame is pain accompanied by the idea of some action of our own, which we believe to be blamed by others.
Explanation:…E3DA32Regret is the desire or appetite to possess something, kept alive by the remembrance of the said thing, and at the same…E3DA33Emulation is the desire of something, engendered in us by our conception that others have the same…E3DA34Thankfulness or Gratitude is the desire or zeal springing from love, whereby we endeavour to benefit him, who with…E3DA35Benevolence is the desire of benefiting one whom we pity. Cf. III. xxvii. note.E3DA36Anger is the desire, whereby through hatred we are induced to injure one whom we hate, III. xxxix.E3DA37Revenge is the desire whereby we are induced, through mutual hatred, to injure one who, with similar feelings, has…E3DA38Cruelty or savageness is the desire, whereby a man is impelled to injure one whom we love or pity.
Explanation: To…E3DA39Timidity is the desire to avoid a greater evil, which we dread, by undergoing a lesser evil. Cf. III. xxxix. note.E3DA40Daring is the desire, whereby a man is set on to do something dangerous which his equals fear to attempt.E3DA41Cowardice is attributed to one, whose desire is checked by the fear of some danger which his equals dare to…E3DA42Consternation is attributed to one, whose desire of avoiding evil is checked by amazement at the evil which he…E3DA43Courtesy, or deference (Humanitas seu modestia), is the desire of acting in a way that should please men, and…E3DA44Ambition is the immoderate desire of power.
Explanation: Ambition is the desire, whereby all the emotions (cf. III.…E3DA45Luxury is excessive desire, or even love of living sumptuously.E3DA46Intemperance is the excessive desire and love of drinking.E3DA47Avarice is the excessive desire and love of riches.E3DA48Lust is desire and love in the matter of sexual intercourse.
Explanation: Whether this desire be excessive or not, it…E3DA49Emotion, which is called a passivity of the soul, is a confused idea, whereby the mind affirms concerning its body, or…