I am a complete novice on Internet. This is the only address for
you that I can find. Here is my proposal anyway:
Having read Antonio Damasio's 1994 book four times from front to
back and one time from back to front and, having made careful notes all
the while, I wold now like to share with you and your news group
something of what I have learned about this important book. My comments
would take the form of several one-page, non-judgmental, topical
reviews. They would allow him to briefly speak for himself regarding his
theories. It should be understood that for ethical, legal and technical
reasons, I have paraphrased Damasio's original text. Within these
limitations, I believe I have generally captured the essence of what he
is saying and how he says it. This proposed book review wold consist of
eight pages, posted one every week, under this subject heading: BOOK
REVIEW: "DESCARTES AND THE HUMAN BRAIN" BY A. R. DAMASIO. The following
titles describe these proposed pages.
1. Introduction
2. Limbic Strategies
3. Feelings and Emotions
4. Cortical strategies fr survival
5. Representation of long-term memories
6. Classification of long-term memories
7. Triparte mediation structures
8. Conscious self-identity
I have also written (and copyrighted) a series of one-page topical
"comments" that describe some probable theoretical consequences of
Damasio's 1994 book. In my opinion these comments are not in obvious
conflict with the position taken in Damasio's book. However, they are
the sort of thing that Damasio, as a reputable scientist, might not want
to publish himself. Nevertheless, they provide a legimate challenge to
current thinking. (Incidentally, these comments are adapted from my
unpublished manuscript entitled "Mind, Brain and Conscious Reality: A
Biologically Based System.") They assume a prior knowledge of Damasio's
book, or of my previously published review of it. These pages would be
posted under the subject heading: "NATURE OF CONSCIOUS AWARENESS." I
would post one page every week, in the following sequence:
Preface (chaotic nature of current literature--with examples)
1. Introduction to conscious awareness (a simple theory of everything)
2. Consciousness and the evolution of language (as a tool)
3. Language: Paradigm of conscious awareness
4. Language: Substrate of conscious awareness
5. Language: Narrative structure of conscious awareness
6. Subconscious somatic self-awareness
7. Preconsciousness: Operating agent of associative brain
8. Evolution of preconsciousness
9. A Freudian editor
10. Filters and censors
11. Memory classification in genral (includes memory domains)
12. A committee of neural decision makers
13. Substrate of global, conscious awareness
14. Unconsciousness (the domain of self-centered memory categories)
15. Evolution of unconscious awareness
16. Perception and recognition of sensory reality
17. Subjective monologues and introspective biographies
18. A committee of associated memory categories
19. A committee of partial selves
20. Psyche (our private self)
21. Persona (our public identity
22. Our childhood's compulsive memories
23. Self-consciousness, familiar, self-image (state of being aware)
24. Evolution of our pre-verbal, self-conscious awareness
25. Introspective self-surveillance, insight and inferences
26. Verbal and audio-visual displays
27. Our Transcendent Mind
These comments presume to be an introduction to the top-down
psychology and neurology of being human. Would you like to have them
posted to your news group? I could send you a floppy disk containing all
of the above described material, if you wish. (Microsoft 3.1 format and
IBM compatable).
Duane Lyon
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Duane Lyon duane.lyon at utmb.edu
University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston
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