The principles of modern psychology are largely founded upon the fact that our thoughts are what make us who we are. It was René Descartes who first said "I think, therefore I am." It is this philosophical paradigm that defines how we, as the human race, conceptualize the relationships between our minds and our bodies. Antonio Damasio, professor of neurology at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, proposes in his book, Descartes' Error, that this philosophy is incorrect, or rather incomplete. He proposes a view of how both our reason and emotions interact to produce our decisions, our beliefs, and who we are. He rejects the institutionalized divisions between thoughts and emotions, feelings and reason, mind and body. He asserts his theory not only by closely examining the structure of assimilation in the human brain, but also builds his theories using numerous case studies. We see not only what Damasio believes, but also how it applies on both psychological, neurological,......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 1073
Approximate Pages: 5 (260 words per double-spaced page) |