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Ethics, Definitions II summary

Definitions II of 17 · Part 2: On the Nature and Origin of the Mind · 1 min to read the chapter

In Definitions II, the speaker defines adequate and partial causes, then uses this distinction to explain when we act and when we are passive. Emotion includes bodily changes that help or hinder activity and the ideas of those changes; its classification depends on whether we adequately cause it.

What happens

  1. An adequate cause makes its effect clearly understandable, while a partial cause cannot explain its effect by itself.
  2. We act when an event is understandable through our nature alone; we are passive when we only partly cause it.
  3. Emotion includes changes in bodily activity and the ideas of those changes.
  4. An emotion counts as an action when we adequately cause it; otherwise, it counts as a passion.

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When does an emotion count as an action?

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