The Feeling of What Happens

1. Consciousness: A Biological Symphony of Self and Object

Consciousness, as we commonly think of it, from its basic levels to its most complex, is the unified mental pattern that brings together the object and the self.

Two Problems of Consciousness. Damasio frames consciousness as a dual challenge: first, understanding how the brain generates mental images of objects (the "movie-in-the-brain"), and second, how the brain creates a sense of self as the observer of that movie. These problems are intertwined, with the sense of self influencing how we perceive and process the world around us.

The Organism and the Object. Consciousness arises from the brain's ability to map both the organism and the object, and the relationship between them. The organism, represented by the "proto-self," provides a stable reference point, while the object is represented through sensory and motor processes. This interplay creates the foundation for knowing.

Unified Mental Pattern. Consciousness is not merely awareness of an object, but the unified mental pattern that brings together the object and the self. This unification allows us to experience the world from a particular perspective, with a sense of ownership and agency.

2. Emotions: The Unconscious Architects of Our Inner World

Emotions are complicated collections of chemical and neural responses, forming a pattern; all emotions have some kind of regulatory role to play, leading in one way or another to the creation of circumstances advantageous to the organism exhibiting the phenomenon.

Beyond the Six Primaries. Emotions are not limited to happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust. They encompass a broader range of states, including social emotions (embarrassment, guilt) and background emotions (well-being, tension). All emotions share a biological core, serving a regulatory function to maintain life.

The Body's Theater. Emotions manifest in the body through a complex interplay of chemical and neural responses. These responses, involving the internal milieu, visceral systems, and musculoskeletal systems, create a global change in the organism's state.

Nonconscious Induction. Emotions can be triggered automatically, without conscious deliberation. This is demonstrated by experiments where individuals with severe memory impairments exhibit emotional preferences for people they've interacted with, even without recognizing them. This highlights the covert nature of emotion induction.

3. Feelings: The Private Language of the Body Made Conscious

I have proposed that the term feeling should be reserved for the private, mental experience of an emotion, while the term emotion should be used to designate the collection of responses, many of which are publicly observable.

From Emotion to Feeling. Feelings are the private, mental experience of emotions. While emotions are outwardly directed and public, feelings are inwardly directed and private. This distinction is crucial for understanding how emotions impact the mind.

The Threshold of Knowing. Feelings are poised at the threshold between being and knowing. An organism can represent a feeling without being conscious of it. Consciousness is required for feelings to influence the subject beyond the immediate here and now.

The Body's Role. Feelings are rooted in the representation of the body. They arise from the brain's mapping of changes in body state caused by emotions. This body-relatedness is essential for the sense of self and the experience of knowing.

4. Core Consciousness: The Ephemeral Now of Knowing

At its simplest and most basic level, consciousness lets us recognize an irresistible urge to stay alive and develop a concern for the self.

The Here and Now. Core consciousness provides a sense of self about one moment—now—and about one place—here. It is a transient phenomenon, ceaselessly re-created for each object with which the brain interacts.

Beyond Wakefulness and Attention. Core consciousness is distinct from wakefulness and attention. Patients can be awake and attentive without having normal consciousness, indicating that these functions are necessary but not sufficient for consciousness.

The Core Self. The sense of self that emerges in core consciousness is the core self, a transient entity, ceaselessly re-created for each and every object with which the brain interacts. This contrasts with the autobiographical self, which is linked to identity and personal history.

5. Extended Consciousness: Weaving a Self Through Time and Culture

In extended consciousness, both the past and the anticipated future are sensed along with the here and now in a sweeping vista as far-ranging as that of an epic novel.

Beyond the Transient. Extended consciousness provides an elaborate sense of self—an identity and a person—and places that person at a point in individual historical time, richly aware of the lived past and of the anticipated future.

Built on Core Consciousness. Extended consciousness is built on the foundation of core consciousness. Impairments of extended consciousness allow core consciousness to remain unscathed, while impairments that begin at the level of core consciousness demolish the entire edifice of consciousness.

The Autobiographical Self. The autobiographical self depends on systematized memories of situations in which core consciousness was involved in the knowing of the most invariant characteristics of an organism's life. It is the basis for identity and personhood.

6. The Brain's Blueprint: Mapping the Organism for Consciousness

I have come to conclude that the organism, as represented inside its own brain, is a likely biological forerunner for what eventually becomes the elusive sense of self.

The Proto-Self. The deep roots for the self are found in the ensemble of brain devices that continuously and nonconsciously maintain the body state within the narrow range and relative stability required for survival. This is the proto-self.

Asymmetry of Representation. Some parts of the brain are free to roam over the world and map whatever object the organism's design permits them to map. Other parts of the brain, those that represent the organism's own state, are not free to roam at all. They are stuck.

Life and Consciousness. Life and consciousness, specifically the self aspect of consciousness, are indelibly interwoven. The organism, as represented inside its own brain, is a likely biological forerunner for what eventually becomes the elusive sense of self.

7. The Limits of Knowing: Mystery, Meaning, and the Human Condition

After solving the mystery of consciousness and making a dent on a few related mysteries of mind, assuming science achieves either, there is enough mystery left to last many a scientific lifetime, enough awe at nature to keep us modest for the foreseeable future.

Distinguishing Mind and Consciousness. Science helps us make distinctions among phenomena and can now successfully distinguish among several components of the human mind. Consciousness and conscience are distinguishable, as are consciousness and mind.

The Appearance Is the Reality. The human mind as we directly sense it is the reality. When we explain the mind, we get to keep that reality while we satisfy part of our curiosity regarding the sleight of hand behind the appearance.

Enough Mystery Left. Solving the mystery of consciousness is not the same as solving all the mysteries of the mind. After considering how consciousness may be produced within the three pounds of flesh we call brain, we may revere life and respect human beings more, rather than less.

Last updated: April 23, 2025