Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain

Antonio Damasio is the David Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Southern California, the Director of the Brain and Creativity Institute, and an adjunct professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and at the University of Iowa. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in the Institute of Medicine and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAA&S). In addition, he is a member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA). Damasio is Portuguese-American and has published works in both languages. He graduated from the University of Lisbon in 1974 and holds several Honorary Doctorates. He is married to neuroscientist Hanna Damasio, whose research on Phineas Gage features prominently in the opening section of Descartes’ Error.

Damasio’s discovery of the connection between brain processes, decision-making, and emotions has greatly influenced the scientific world. His research has received continuous funding from the Federal government for 30 years. Descartes’ Error is his first novel-length publication. Although written for a lay audience, it received critical acclaim among experts in the field of Neuroscience. Damasio has since published four other books on neurology, emotion, psychology, and culture.