Reflection on Descartes Error

The principles of modern psychology are largely founded upon the fact that our thoughts are what make us who we are. It was Renй 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, and philosophical levels. This demonstration makes a bold challenge to Descartes famous statement, while also presenting claims that human emotion and reason are not only coexistent, but that this dependence is essential to the mind's ability to think rationally.

The first, and most important demonstration of his theory is the case of Phineas Gage. It is this case that Damasio returns to time and again to explain the interconnectedness of the mind's cognitive and emotional behavior. Phineas Gage (1823 - May 21, 1860) was a railroad construction foreman who suffered a traumatic brain injury caused when a thin, iron pole accidentally passed through his skull, damaging the frontal lobes of his brain. Evidence gathered in the time after his accident suggests that this neurological damage caused an "inversion of his emotional, social and personal traits." Gage's case is cited as among the first evidence suggesting that damage to the frontal lobes could alter aspects of personality and affect socially appropriate interaction. Before this time the frontal lobes were largely thought to have little role in behavior. With this study, Damasio asserts that the cognitive behavior of the brain, which is thought to be largely centralized in the frontal lobes, also effects human behavior, emotion, and personality. Before Damasio's research this hypothesis could not be explained.

More contemporary cases relating back to Damasio's theory are also included, all of which are either almost identical to the case of Phineas Gage, or are related in some way to his second assertion that human emotions are rooted in bodily senses, such as sight. He explains this saying:

I do not see emotions and feelings as the intangible and vaporous qualities that many presume them to be. Their subject matter is concrete, and they can be related to specific systems in body and brain, no less so than vision or speech. Nor are the responsible brain systems confined to the subcortical sector. Brain core and cerebral cortex work together to construct emotion and feeling, no less so than in vision.

He continues by explaining how sight, as well as other senses, are not localized in the cerebral cortex alone, and rely on the brain's capacity to process senses in several structures, namely the brain stem.

At this point in the book it still remains a little unclear exactly what Descartes' error actually was, but Damasio seems to imply that what Descartes should have said was: I feel, therefore I think. This, however, only acts as a basis for his next theory.

After explaining in depth his two theories on the interconnectedness of the mind and body, Damasio concludes with a third point. The final third of the book is spent explaining The Somatic-Marker Hypothesis which explains how emotions are biologically indispensable to decision making. His belief that mind and body functions are interdependent, as well as his patient and case study research indicate that "feelings normally accompany response options