Antonio Damasio

The hypothesis proposes that bodily and emotional signals associated with previous outcomes help mark options as attractive or dangerous. Damasio argues that these signals narrow difficult choices rather than merely interfering with rational thought.

In the task, participants choose repeatedly from card decks that differ in long-term reward and punishment. Patients with damage involving the ventromedial prefrontal cortex often keep choosing disadvantageous decks despite being able to explain some of the risks.

Phineas Gage was a 19th-century railroad foreman who survived an iron rod passing through his skull and frontal brain. Damasio used Gage and modern neurological patients to argue that frontal damage can disrupt judgment, personality, and social decision-making.

Descartes' Error, published in 1994, introduces his argument that emotion is integral to reasoning. The Feeling of What Happens focuses more heavily on consciousness, while Looking for Spinoza develops his distinction between emotions and feelings.