Religious emotions in Pascal and Descartes

Abstract

The 17th century abounds in theories about something variously referred to as passion, emotion, or affect. This interest in the philosophy of emotions is just as important as the interest in “reason” in the 17th century. Contrary to previous ideas that claimed the primacy of rationalism in this era, the two interests represent two sides of the same philosophical project. In this project the theory of the mind and the theory of emotions are two complementary aspects.