Moral Feelings in Descartes and Spinoza. The Case of Pity and Envy, Favor and Indignation

The article compares Descartes' and Spinoza's theory of passions through an analysis of their treatment of pity or commiseration, envy, favor and indignation. By analyzing these affects, the article seeks to accomplish two objectives. On the one hand, it aims to show that complexities of the relationship between Spinoza's Ethica and Descartes's Passions de l'ame are ignored if the latter is considered simply as a polemical target of the former. On the other hand, it aims to clarify how Spinoza, starting from anthropological premises opposed to Descartes', can present a model of a strong or generous man that has many elements in common Descartes'.