The Passions Are Pettitive Movements That Influence Reason

If we're looking for the rotsio behind our sin, it's this. The passions are themselves of pettitive movements that take place in the level of sense and they can therefore influence our sense powers. And so when we are in a state of passion, and we desire something with our passions, the passions direct our attention to the object in question and thereby influence reason. Our rational faculties can then start to consider rationally the prospect of choosing the object of our passions instead of upholding whatever general rule we would otherwise have in mind. So we have two rational judgments. I would agree with our, I think the general experience that we have of, particularly the passions or sense appetites