Overview

Full Product Details

9780099288763

Table of Contents

Reviews

"""The life-changing read of the year... The book is crammed with tiny gems of information with which to reassess how you look at the world and think about yourself"" -- Katie Mitchell Guardian ""A tour de force...a monumental book...a gem of a work"" -- Anthony Clare Sunday Times ""Compelling...a story told with clarity and pace, unencumbered by unnecessary technical jargon and illustrated with insightful clinical anecdotes"" The Times ""A fascinating and suggestive book"" Literary Review ""Both Descartes' Error and The Feeling of What Happens are essential reading. They are groundbreaking classics of psychology and neuroscience. These are the books to buy, keep and ponder upon. Do so, and you will be ahead of the ruck by at least a decade"" Journal Of The Royal Society of Medicine"

Books on the brain, mind and consciousness, are now being fired out by publishers at an incredible rate; these publishing houses appear to have been roused suddenly from some deep slumber and now appear anxious to catch up by producing as many books as possible on this fascinating subject - many of which obscure rather than illuminate. However, what is different about this book is that it explains the problem and the mystery clearly. Damasio points out consciousness is like watching a film in a movie theatre - but where is the film being projected in the brain - and who is watching? How can the brain produce what we appear to be conscious of, as well as the sensation of being aware of our own consciousness as well? Central to the problem of consciousness is the fact that we can simultaneously be subject and object. There are some fascinating case histories - such as what happens when you lose all sense of fear due to a brain injury - in fact you become over familiar and flirtatious with everyone, as the example of one of Damasio's own patients illustrates! An intriguing book which helps reawaken within you awe at your own simple awareness. Review by DR RAJ PERSAUD (Kirkus UK)

One of the world's leading experts on the neurophysiology of emotions, Professor Damasio shows how our consciousness, our sense of being, arose out of development of emotion. At its core, human consciousness is consciousness of the feeling, experiencing self, the 'very thought of' oneself. Brilliantly wide-ranging in his scope, Damasio illustrates his thesis with fascinating and illuminating neurological case studies that are both stimulating and provocative.

Author Information

ANTONIO DAMASIO is a University Professor, David Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Neurology, and director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California. Damasio's other books include Descartes' Error; Self Comes to Mind; and Looking for Spinoza. He has received the Honda Prize, the Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research, and, shared with his wife Hanna, the Pessoa, Signoret, and Cozzarelli prizes. Damasio is a fellow of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. He lives in Los Angeles.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available