Descartes' Error

Author: Antonio Damasio

Stock information

General Fields

  • : $30.00 NZD
  • : 9780099501640
  • : Penguin Random House
  • : Vintage
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  • : July 2006
  • : United Kingdom
  • : 29.99
  • : May 2006
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  • : books

Special Fields

  • :
  • :
  • : Antonio Damasio
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  • : Paperback
  • : 1
  • :
  • : English
  • : 612.82
  • :
  • : 352
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  • : Illustrations
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Barcode 9780099501640
9780099501640

Description

In the centuries 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. Antonio Damasio challenged traditional ideas about the connection between emotions and rationality. In this wonderfully 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 behaviour.

Promotion info

Crucial reading - New York Times Book Review
Rich in provocative concepts about intelligence, memory, creativity and passion - Los Angeles Times

Reviews

A fasciniating and informative book. Antonio Damasio explains how the images we perceive are formed, how our knowledge is deposited, how memory operates, how the regulatory mechanisms of our life act, what emotions and feelings are and, in short, provides us with essential knowledge about how the brain works.

Author description

Antonio Damasio is Van Allen Professor of Neurology and head of the department of neurology at The University of Iowa College of Medicine. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.