I cannot listen to Beethoven or Mahler or Chopin or Bach when I write because those composers require you stop what you are doing and listen. Antonio Damasio bachbeethovenchopin Change image and share on social
Of necessity, the autobiographical self is not just about one individual but about all the others that an individual interacts with. Of necessity, it incorporates the culture in which the interactions took place. Antonio Damasio autobiographicalcultureincorporate share on social
When you deal with something like compassion for physical pain, which we know is very, very old in evolution - we can find evidence for it in nonhuman species - the brain processes it at a faster speed. Compassion for mental pain took many seconds longer. Antonio Damasio braincompassiondeal share on social
For pure joy, I look at a small painting by Arbit Blatas. An ocean liner is at the center of the composition, perhaps ready to depart. It holds the promise of discovery. Antonio Damasio arbitblatascenter Change image and share on social
Some of us, for better or worse, develop very stable, consistent, and largely predictable machineries of self. But in others, the self machinery is more flexible and more open to unexpected turns. Antonio Damasio badlyconsistentdevelop Change image and share on social
Writing long hand is the last refuge. One needs the time it takes to put pencil to paper and let it run along the ruled line. Antonio Damasio handlinelong Change image and share on social
Having a self, even a simple self, allows you to look into the world and put a mark over what is more important and less important. It's a way of classifying the world in terms of your own needs. Antonio Damasio classifyimportantmark Change image and share on social
Consciousness permits us to develop the instruments of culture - morality and justice, religion, art, economics and politics, science and technology. Those instruments allow us some measure of freedom in the confrontation with nature. Antonio Damasio artconfrontationconsciousness share on social
We do not merely perceive objects and hold thoughts in our minds: all our perceptions and thought processes are felt. All have a distinctive component that announces an unequivocal link between images and the existence of life in our organism. Antonio Damasio announcecomponentdistinctive share on social
Rather than being a luxury, emotions are a very intelligent way of driving an organism toward certain outcomes. Antonio Damasio driveemotionintelligent Change image and share on social
