Esteem and Contempt

149. Esteem and Contempt

The first 2 of the 6 passions are esteem and contempt.

These terms ordinarily refer only to opinions held without passion about the value of things.

These opinions often give rise to unnamed passions. This is why I set esteem and contempt as passions.

Esteem, as a passion, is the soul’s inclination to represent to itself the value of the esteemed object.

This inclination is caused by a specific movement of the spirits that are directed within the brain as to strengthen the impressions that contribute to this perception.

Conversely, contempt is the soul’s inclination to consider the baseness or insignificance of what it holds in contempt, caused by the movement of the spirits that fortify the idea of this insignificance.

150. Esteem and Contempt are Merely Species of Admiration

Esteem and Contempt are merely species of admiration.

For when we neither admire the greatness nor the smallness of an object, we evaluate it no more and no less than reason dictates we should. In such cases, we esteem or despise it without passion.

Although esteem is often aroused in us by love, and contempt by hatred, this is not universal and occurs only because one is more or less inclined to consider the greatness or smallness of an object in proportion to one’s affection for it.

151. One Can Esteem or Despise Oneself

These two passions can generally be applied to all kinds of objects, but they are particularly notable when applied to ourselves—that is, when it is our own merit that we esteem or despise.

The movement of the spirits that causes these passions is so evident in such cases that it even changes one’s expression, gestures, demeanor, and generally all the actions of those who form a better or worse opinion of themselves than usual.

152. Why We Esteem Ourselves

Oone of the main aspects of wisdom is knowing how and why one should esteem or despise oneself.

We esteem ourselves because of:

• our free will
• the dominion we have over our desires.

Only actions that depend on this free will can justly earn us praise or blame.

This free will makes us similar to God by making us masters of ourselves, provided we do not lose the rights it gives us through cowardice.