December 4, 2017
Damasio (Self Comes to Mind), director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California, continues his quest for a theory of human consciousness, here linking feelings and culture with homeostasis and evolution. His ideas are exciting, yet his explanations tend to be abstract, as when he writes that “the constructions that inhabit our minds can well be imagined as ephemeral musical performances, played by several hidden orchestras.” Attempting to explain “the biological underpinnings of the human cultural mind,” Damasio begins with the Cambrian unicellular organism and shows how the mapping of internal and external images led to the development of nervous systems, which in turn laid the groundwork for verbal language, consciousness, subjectivity, and feeling. Damasio posits that feelings in humans “arose from a series of gradual, body-related processes... accumulated and maintained over evolution.” He then explores the biological roots of culture, particularly the role homeostasis played in generating behavioral strategies. Damasio extends his thinking on homeostasis to the shaping of moral codes and the emergence of religious and political systems, and even to the internet and what he dubs “the current crisis of the human condition.” Wide in scope, though occasionally difficult to follow, Damasio’s book contains moments of genius but feels like a work in progress.

December 1, 2017
A leading neuroscientist returns with a complex exploration of the life of the mind.Feelings play an unappreciated role in culture and consciousness but turn out to be a universal aspect of life, writes Damasio (Neuroscience, Psychology and Philosophy/Univ. of Southern California; Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain, 2010), who directs the Brain and Creativity Institute. Neuroscience has become a popular genre, so there is a substantial audience for this expert, definitely not dumbed-down examination of the interplay between feelings and the human condition. The author emphasizes that culture is almost entirely a human phenomenon and consciousness entirely so, but these represent only the most advanced neurophysiologic manifestations of feeling that--as emotion--are present in many higher animals. These require a brain, but a nervous system (first evolved 500 million years ago) allows simpler animals to monitor their environments and react appropriately. Absence of feeling is incompatible with life, so even primitive bacteria sense their surroundings, cooperate, and defend themselves in sophisticated ways. Damasio emphasizes that all life aims to stabilize its internal environment (chemical concentration, pH levels, oxygen content, temperature, etc.) in the face of external changes. This is homeostasis, a theme the author returns to repeatedly as the engine of evolution. For nearly 4 billion years species have competed, struggled, and died out as evolution has produced other, often more complex species, including humans. Feelings contribute to homeostasis, but homeostasis applies only to individuals. In a long final section, Damasio wonders how its scientific application might diminish conflicts among movements, cultures, and nations in our increasingly dangerous world. His mildly optimistic conclusion is that there are reasons to hope.A dense, detailed mixture of hard science, philosophy, and speculation that will reward readers willing to work through the author's demanding book.

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February 1, 2018

Neuroscientist Damasio (neuroscience, psychology, & philosophy, Univ. of Southern California; Self Comes to Mind) argues that feelings such as pain, suffering, and pleasure were key motivators encouraging the development of culture--a uniquely human phenomenon. Central to the author's theory is the relationship between feelings and homeostasis (the state of equilibrium between internal and external forces). Homeostasis is the foundation of all forms of life and is a driving force in the struggle for survival within the simplest cells, such as bacteria, as well as in complex organisms, such as humans. Feelings are connected to homeostasis in that they are, according to Damasio, "the subjective experiences of the momentary state of homeostasis within a living body." Every living organism aims to achieve homeostasis for survival, but only those with nervous systems are capable of feelings. It is feelings, argues the author, with their inherent connection to the concept of homeostasis, that spurred the development of culture. Damasio's sophisticated and complex theory on the role of feelings in the emergence of culture incorporates hard science, neuroscience, and even philosophy. VERDICT Densely packed with information, this title will appeal primarily to avid science readers who are interested in discovering new ways of looking at the world and humans' complex relationship to it.--Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's Sch., Brooklyn

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2017

Director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at UCLA and author of the multiple-best-booked The Feeling of What Happens, Damasio here explains homeostasis--how living things maintain the stable conditions needed for survival--as he traces human beings back biologically, psychologically, and socially to unicellular life.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.