Antonio Damasio: The Quest to Understand Consciousness
Post #650
TED Talk Video: Every morning we wake up and regain consciousness — that is a marvelous fact — but what exactly is it that we regain? Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio uses this simple question to give us a glimpse into how our brains create our sense of self.
Antonio Damasio’s research in neuroscience has shown that emotions play a central role in social cognition and decision-making. His work has had a major influence on current understanding of the neural systems, which underlie memory, language, consciousness.
Why you should listen to him:
Antonio Damasio is a leader in understanding the biological origin of consciousness. He also argues that emotions, far from being barriers to it, are a crucial component of decision-making. He is founder and director of the USC Brain and Creativity Institute, which draws on partners across academic disciplines to use the explosion of new neuroscience results to tackle issues from mental health to societal and global change.
Damasio is the author of Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain, which was adapted into a musical composition performed by Yo-Yo Ma at the American Museum of Natural History.
“A mind is so closely shaped by the body and destined to serve it that only one mind could possibly arise in it. No body, never mind.”
– Antonio Damasio in “The Feeling of What Happens”
[ted id=1308]
Video Source: http://www.ted.com/talks/antonio_damasio_the_quest_to_understand_consciousness.html
