Book Review- Looking for Spinoza: Joy, Sorrow, and the Feeling Brain
Throughout the scientific revolutions and discoveries in the functionality of the brain and study of neuroscience, the study of feelings and emotions in connection to neuroscience has been avoided by scientist. Probably because it has been elusive and difficult to establish a solid connection between the brain’s functions and feelings and emotions based on scientific explanations. Through this paper, Antonio’s book that makes a ground breaking step in this direction is reviewed. Looking for Spinoza: Joy, Sorrow, and the Feeling Brain, is a 2004 Vintage publication authored by Antonio R. Damasio.
This literary piece of work was authored with an aim of trying to explore how the mind might be ruling us, and the connection between the brain, feelings and emotions. Antonio is a professor of neuroscience at the University of Southern California, where he is the head of the Brain and creativity Institute. Through his extended argument in the book based on Spinoza, a great Seventeenth-Century Dutch philosopher, Antonio approaches this issue as a researcher with a great background and experience in dealing with brain damaged patients and MRI scans analysis.
In chapter one, Antonio states his main aim-that of presenting a progress report on human feelings and the related phenomena in his view as a neuroscientist, neurologist (Antonio 6). Antonio elucidates the nature of feelings and emotions within this chapter whilst reflecting on Spinoza’s philosophy and integrating his scientific research. Throughout this chapter, Antonio tries to establish the connection between the significance of humanity and scientific knowledge in neurology, whilst keeping Spinoza’s philosophy alive. In the second and third chapter, Antonio tries to establish the connection between emotions and feelings. Antonio postulates that feelings and emotions are separate entities of functions, and as a result; they have to view differently in order to be understood scientifically (Antonio 11).
In these chapters Antonio defines both emotions and feelings whilst establishing their inter-relation-that feelings result from emotions in an evolutionary perspective. He defines emotions as physical manifestations of the body that is trying to survive or maintain its own good as a result of processes whose onset can be traced back to reflexes at the cellular level. According to Antonio (14), emotions are manifestations of the body’s feelings at a physical level, and these may be observable by the naked eye or through the use of modern technology that detects chemical signals and electrical impulses in the brain.
In the fourth chapter Antonio explores the feelings’ evolution and their purpose in human life. Through his exploration, Antonio explains how emotions can be processed into conscious feelings and he further relates this mental processing to the existence of concepts such as ethics and altruism. This he relates to Spinoza’s conatus of every person’s desire to be happy-an extension of the personal desire to survive on to other human’s survival and well being. Through this chapter, Antonio tries to use his postulations to explain how people that are dysfunctional in society get to their state due to lack of access to proper emotion related memories.
In chapter five, titled body, brain and mind, Antonio highlights the conflict of stand between Descartes and Spinoza. According to Descartes the human body and mind are two different entities-a stand that both Antonio and Spinoza do not agree with-according Antonio and Spinoza, the human mind is the representation of the human body (Antonio 211). Antonio explains that the body’s inner and outer stimuli reactions to the world form the emotions, and through these feelings the mind is able to consciously tell the condition of the body consciously. Thus, according to Antonio (217), both the body and the mind shape each other with the mind shaping the body the more. The sixth chapter explores Spinoza’s life and philosophical journey. This part of the book also serves to illumine Antonio’s journey through Spinoza’s eye. Finally, the book is concluded by a review of free will in connection to the human search of fulfilling emotions and feelings.
The book has a well knit connection that helps Antonio achieve his ultimate goal. However, Antonio substantiates his thesis with less proof and a lot of evidence. He does not show empirical experiments that may limit the variables, but he makes use of examples derived from MRI scans and patients with damaged brains. Notably, his work is still very believable in the way it is elucidated and it may lead to further research into depression and pain. His discussion is very lucid and connected except for a few spots with Latin names. The book is also worthwhile for anyone that may be interested in discovering Spinoza and his philosophies. The book is actually worth reading for anyone in the fields of psychology and neurology. The slight critique on the book may be on its departure from the main theme and topic as it explores the philosopher-Spinoza- in chapter six. This section should have been probably brought earlier to offer a background to Antonio’s work-like some sort literature review.
Works Cited
Damasio, R. Antonio. Looking for Spinoza: Joy, Sorrow, and the Feeling Brain. Vintage Publishers, 2004. Print.
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