russia has launched a full-scale war in Ukraine! Headway asks you to donate to the charity fund to protect Ukraine and the world’s peace.

Support Ukraine

logo

Headway App

(81,672)

FREE - on the App Store

INSTALL NOW
library / 
book

Summary of Descartes' Error 

4.6 . 589 reviews

Short summary

The mind, the machinery that drives us with emotive action and passionate conviction, is the topic of much debate both in the world of psychology and neurology. Some have argued it is the embodiment of the soul, our spiritual conduit to the universe. Others say it’s our copy from the immaterial plane, a way to interact with the intangible universe and can exist outside our very limited physical form. This is Descartes’ theory, a French philosopher who believed the mind and body were two distinct entities that operated independently of one another. Antonio Damasio, who is an American-Portuguese neuroscientist and astute author in several fields, owing to his vast wealth of knowledge on the topic and his extensive research and studies has been able to debunk the theory that the mind does not need the body to exist or function. His immense efforts in the field have shown that the brain and the consciousness are, in fact, more connected than we first thought, arguing that emotions play a central role in the decision-making process and social adaptation today. This book, with the masterfully guiding hands of Damasio, helps to expose several key insights about the mind, body, emotions and how they all come together to create sane and seemingly clear-headed decisions.

Table of content

  • Summary of Descartes' Error
  • About the author
  • What is Descartes' Error about?
  • Who should read Descartes' Error
  • Topics in Descartes' Error
first key point

The human mind isn’t a separate entity from the body

Listen the first key point
00:00
00:00
French philosopher René Descartes proposed that the human mind was independent of the body and that it operated without any physical influence. This theory was carried on without any question as the “Cartesian Dualism”, terming the mind “immaterial” and the body “material”.
The body isn’t whole without the mind and neither is the mind without the body.
Research done by Antonio Damasio has although shown quite the opposite, that the mind is actually influenced greatly by the body, in fact. When humans experience great trauma to their frontal lobes, there is increased change in the person’s outward behavior.
Trauma to the frontal lobe of the brain has been discovered to be the cause of a number of behavioral oddities.
If they were once cool, calm and collected, there is a switch to the extremes. The condition is known as the Gage syndrome named after the famous railroad foreman, Phineas Gage who survived a grueling accident where an iron rod shot through his left eye and out the base of his skull, damaging much of his frontal lobe in the process.
The brain, the case for the mind, must not be allowed any exposure to damage or the mind and body will suffer.
Before the accident, Phineas Gage was quite sociable, composed and witty. Although he didn’t lose his motor functions, he became a totally new man, being prone to mood swings and fits of anger which made it difficult to keep a job, taking him from a life of wealth to one of abject poverty at the age of 25.
The self is a repeatedly reconstructed biological state. ~ Antonio Damasio
second key point

The brain contains a system of networks that aid its overall activities

Much of what we know of the brain is made possible thanks to neuroanatomy, the study of the structure and organization of the nervous system. We learn that the brain has independent, segregated and defined nervous systems. This means that we can understand the way a person behaves by studying their brain’s activity.
book
Continue reading with Headway app
Continue reading
Full summary is waiting for you in the app
third key point

Emotions aren’t the enemy of reason and can shape the decisions we make

fourth key point

Reason meets with emotions and feelings to bring us a better view of the world

fifth key point

We can map the emotional reactions we exhibit thanks to somatic markers

sixth key point

Descartes’ error helped us understand the union between the mind and body

seventh key point

Conclusion

Buy full book on AmazonContinue the summary

What is Descartes' Error about?

Who should read Descartes' Error

book
book

Enjoy summarized nonfiction bestsellers

Grasp the book’s key ideas in less than 15 minutes

Get started

Get new knowledge easily

Let’s check how many titles you can finish in a month with Headway! Tell us how much time you’d like to spend on reading:

2 min/day
5 min/day
10 min/day
15 min/day
20 min/day
30 min/day
45 min/day
4 titles/month
10 titles/month
20 titles/month
30 titles/month
40 titles/month
60 titles/month
90 titles/month
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
4 titles/month
10 titles/month
20 titles/month
30 titles/month
40 titles/month
60 titles/month
90 titles/month
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image

Join 30+ million learners around the world

60K5 reviews on App Store and Google Play
icon

Everything you need to be motivate, to learn & to self improves is all here. I actually do appreciate the reminders because otherwise this wouldn’t work for me. Thank you

icon

sandypantalones

icon

Headway is the answer! No longer accumulating books I never read. With Headway, I initially chose the areas important to me such as productivity, time management, etc., and each day I'm provided several book summaries from which I devote 20 minutes or more each day reading. All of this on my phone! My life has improved with Headway. Truly my most useful app.

icon

Carol Slinker

icon

An excellent concept, executed well. Headway can help you retain what you've read while introducing you to the essential core of new information. It's an easier way to stay inspired, and to be reminded of the mental tools you've learned

icon

Fuse Henry

icon

In today’s world, we rarely have time. Between our jobs, our families are social obligations, when do we have time to grow and develop ourselves? Headway is an excellent app that gives you that time it gives you those little snippets of information that you need to direct your focus in on your life. Headway gives you a chance to find out the meat of a book that you might want to purchase and read or listen to in-depth without wasting a lot of time trying to figure out is this book for me? I highly recommend the app.

icon

sleepy sprite

icon

The selections are on point and the summaries are excellent! I listen while I walk my pup 🐶 and have in turn, ordered a few selections! REALLY loving the app, it’s layout, daily selections and features!

icon

JuicyBaby328

icon

I've gotten multiple books out of the library with the intent to read them, but always have a hard time finding the time. This app has helped me finally be able to get to them. Summarized, yes, and thank goodness too! Just short enough I can finish one on my way picking kids up from school/practice, or while I'm cooking dinner. I can't wait to listen to them over the summer when we visit the beach!

icon

Jillian Emmert

icon

It amazed me! There is the possibility to highlight the most important points of each book and instantly translate unfamiliar vocabulary. With the ability to review the searched words. It's a great way to learn more about English as well. The price is great.

icon

Fiamma

icon

I’m enjoying what I’m learning on headway.each summary comes with quotes at the end which you can save to help you remember key points. You can listen or read, I’ve found that reading puts me to sleep before I can finish but the listening feature keeps me engaged and I can finish in a brief amount of time if not one session.

icon

Epic waters

icon

The app it’s so easy to use. I use it while driving or cooking and is great. I love the fact that the chapters are short, so you can finish them quickly. Very knowledgeable.

icon

kathytaveras

icon

The best app for self development.It helps to keep pace with your reading and also suggests the kind of reading material you might like.It is fun as you can switch from reading to listening and vice-versa as per your convenience .Just get started and partake of the treasure of knowledge at your fingertips .I feel lucky to have spotted the app.It has helped me become self-disciplined and much better informed.The audio track is excellent.

icon

anita yadav

icon

Exactly what I need! I always have booklist to read, but can't committed enough to finish/start bc of too much pages. Headway is really helpful and concise with their summary. What I love the most is that the essence of the book is well crafted, so I don't only read the key points, but also there's the story and how personality of the author still well shown through the summary. Well done!

icon

Feninda Amalia

icon

This is outstanding best app ever and honestly whoever came up with is my app is an absolute genius kudos my gratitude definitely goes out and I’m only on my first week free trial and I’m certainly going to purchase this app annually. Now that I have it, I can’t even imagine living without it.

icon

Darlin NIKKIDOLL0923