When we talk about emotion, we really talk about a collection of behaviors that are produced by the brain. You can look at a person in the throes of an emotion and observe changes in the face, in the body posture, in the coloration of the skin and so on. Antonio Damasio behaviorbodybrain share on social
I cannot listen to Beethoven or Mahler or Chopin or Bach when I write because those composers require you stop what you are doing and listen. Antonio Damasio bachbeethovenchopin Change image and share on social
Of necessity, the autobiographical self is not just about one individual but about all the others that an individual interacts with. Of necessity, it incorporates the culture in which the interactions took place. Antonio Damasio autobiographicalcultureincorporate share on social
Rather than being a luxury, emotions are a very intelligent way of driving an organism toward certain outcomes. Antonio Damasio driveemotionintelligent Change image and share on social
The problem that we, as living organisms, face - and not we only, humans, but any living organism faces - is the management of life. Antonio Damasio facehumanlife Change image and share on social
To me, body and mind are different aspects of specific biological processes. Antonio Damasio aspectbiologicalbody Change image and share on social
Consciousness, much like our feelings, is based on a representation of the body and how it changes when reacting to certain stimuli. Self-image would be unthinkable without this representation. Antonio Damasio basebodyconsciousness Change image and share on social
Interestingly enough, not all feelings result from the body's reaction to external stimuli. Sometimes changes are purely simulated in the brain maps. Antonio Damasio bodybrainexternal Change image and share on social
You still have only one self and one identity. However, self, identity and personality are not things, they are not objects, and they certainly are not rigid. Instead, they are biological processes built within the brain from numerous interactive components, step by step, over a period of time. Antonio Damasio biologicalbrainbuild share on social
In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who we are' operate on precisely the same principles that we do. Antonio Damasio abstractionattentionbrain Change image and share on social