Joy

Joy (laetitia) is the feeling of increasing power — the transition from lesser to greater perfection.

In depth

Joy is not mere pleasure. It is the affect that accompanies an increase in your power of acting and thinking. When you understand something deeply, when your body becomes more capable, when external things aid your striving — you feel joy. Joy is always a transition: you move from a lesser state to a greater one. This is why learning and growth feel good.

Why it matters

Joy is Spinoza's compass for the good life. Things that truly increase your power produce joy; things that merely stimulate without empowering produce unstable pleasure. Pursuing genuine joy — through understanding — is the ethical path.

Source references

• Ethics III.P11

Connected concepts

Appears in paths