ENGLISH

Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain

By Antonio R. Damasio

Book information

Publisher
Penguin Books
Year
2005
ISBN
9781101640135
Language
english
Format
EPUB
Filesize
580 kB (594332 bytes)
Edition
Reprint
Pages
335\0
Time added
2020-05-22 20:06:06

Description

Since Descartes famously proclaimed, "I think, therefore I am," science has often overlooked emotions as the source of a person’s true being. Even modern neuroscience has tended, until recently, to concentrate on the cognitive aspects of brain function, disregarding emotions. This attitude began to change with the publication of Descartes’ Error in 1995. Antonio Damasio—"one of the world’s leading neurologists" (The New York Times)—challenged traditional ideas about the connection between emotions and rationality. In this wondrously engaging book, Damasio takes the reader on a journey of scientific discovery through a series of case studies, demonstrating what many of us have long suspected: emotions are not a luxury, they are essential to rational thinking and to normal social behavior.

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