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sjbanner's review against another edition
4.0
I found this a very enjoyable book, raising questions about the relationship between mind and body. He looks into what he considers to be (at least one of) Decarte's major error that deeply impacts modern society: the Dualistic perception of the separation of mind and body. The author makes his case for a wholistic view in which the mind and body are one, deeply integrated system. This system admitedly has various sub-systems of which that which we talk of as mind and body are two, but which feed, support and deeply influence each other. The author admits that he is putting forth a hypothosis and there are many areas that need research to validate, but his perspective seems entirely realistic to me.
Towards the end of the book, he looks a little into what this separation between mind and body means for how we understand ourselves and how our medical techology has grown and evolved, suggesting that for all it's successes, the (imaginary?) gulf between the mind and body sets a limit to the successes of modern medicine, and to our ability to truely understand who and what we are as humans.
Towards the end of the book, he looks a little into what this separation between mind and body means for how we understand ourselves and how our medical techology has grown and evolved, suggesting that for all it's successes, the (imaginary?) gulf between the mind and body sets a limit to the successes of modern medicine, and to our ability to truely understand who and what we are as humans.
verababey's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
abs_tract's review against another edition
4.0
Damasio recalls that he grew up “accustomed to thinking that the mechanisms for reason existed in a separate province of the mind, where emotion should not be allowed to intrude.” yet his experience with patients like" phineas Gage "convinced him that normal human reasoning is inextricably linked to emotion
Pure reason, reason uninfluenced by emotion, seems to occur only in pathological states that are characterized by impairment of day-to-day decision-making and social interaction. Says Damasio, “Certain aspects of the process of emotion and feeling are indispensable for rationality.” To think otherwise was Descartes’ error. “(The error was) the abyssal separation between body and mind, the suggestion that reasoning, and moral judgement, and the suffering that comes from physical pain or emotional upheaval might exist separately from the body. Specifically: the separation of the most refined operations of the mind from the structure and operation of a biological organism.”
Pure reason, reason uninfluenced by emotion, seems to occur only in pathological states that are characterized by impairment of day-to-day decision-making and social interaction. Says Damasio, “Certain aspects of the process of emotion and feeling are indispensable for rationality.” To think otherwise was Descartes’ error. “(The error was) the abyssal separation between body and mind, the suggestion that reasoning, and moral judgement, and the suffering that comes from physical pain or emotional upheaval might exist separately from the body. Specifically: the separation of the most refined operations of the mind from the structure and operation of a biological organism.”
daaan's review against another edition
2.0
In a word, tedious. The argument was tortuous and ultimately simple. Much of the book is taken up wading through poorly structured discussions of brain structures. Veering wildly between anecdotes and detailed neurology, the book never settles to a comfortable mid ground, which would have generally aided readability.
sdoire's review against another edition
2.0
Disappointingly boring. I'm still unclear as to how (neuroscientifically) emotion and reason interact to create "better" decision-making than reason alone. Damasio may have explained it adequately, but I was so bored I might have slept through it. The story of Phineas Gage was fascinating though.