Descartes' Error

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 <i>Descartes' Error</i>. 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.