Antonio Damasio - Emotion vs Reason

Antonio Damasio (Portuguese: António Damásio; born February 25, 1944 in Lisbon) is a University Professor and David Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Southern California (where he also heads the Brain and Creativity Institute), an Adjunct Professor at the Salk Institute, and the author of several books describing his scientific thinking. "As a leading neuroscientist, Damasio has dared to speculate on neurobiological data, and has offered a theory about the relationship between human emotions, human rationality, and the underlying biology." Damasio's books deal with the relationship between emotions and feelings, and what their brain substrates. His 1994 book, Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain, won the Science et Vie prize, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award, and is translated in over 30 languages. It is regarded as one of the most influential books of the past two decades. In January 2010, Sciences Humaines named it one of the 20 books that changed the vision of the world. The book has been cited over 13,000 times

Damasio’s radix Sun [6pi] forms the apex of a Yod with Pluto [7le] and Neptune [4li] and Poseidon [7li].

Pluto-Poseidon: Mental metamorphosis; to see new ideas create radical changes Neptune-Poseidon: A need for a heightened receptivity to emotions and feelings

In 1994 when Damasio published his first book Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain,[1] Saturn was transiting over his radix Sun triggering the Yod. In astrology, a Yod is a special challenge to constructively alter that which impairs the total functioning of the individual – sometimes dropping an older paradigm to pursue a new one.

The Sun is conjunct Gamma (γ) Aquarius, Sadalachbia - a 4th magnitude greenish star in the right arm of the Water Bearer.

“Aquarius is of vision and creativity, revolutionary and unpredictable, original, eccentric and innovative. Aquarians support "the future well being of Humanity." They are visionaries seeking to support humanitarian pursuits especially in the arts and sciences, an evolved societal structure, that which the nourishing flowing waters of the Waterbearer are intended” [2]. Symbolically, the element of water stands for feelings.

In 1993-94, there was a major Uranus-Neptune conjunction around 19-22 Cap [3]. In astrology, Uranus stands for science and reason while Neptune for feelings and emotions. The Uranus-Neptune conjunction began the dissolving of boundaries, “revolutions by dissolution.” This epochal change began at the geopolitical level with glasnost, perestroika, and the nonviolent revolutions that took down the Berlin Wall and ended the Cold War. In science cold reason was being invaded or dissolved by feelings and emotions. It began to bring into question fundamental assumptions about subjectivity and objectivity, the relative and the absolute, time and space, substance and process etc.

In March 2010, just around the time Damasio’s book was catching public attention, a Nova explosion [V407 Cygni] was detected at about 10pi [tropical] fairly close to Damasio’s Sun 6pi [tropical]. The Novae (or nova, which means “new”) notes the death of a star. Such a death symbolizes the end of an older paradigm. The new paradigm is not yet determined so that we are enduring a transitional phase in evolution.

[1] Descartes born 13 Mar 1596 had no planet in the element water in contrast to Damasio who primary planet, the Sun is in a water sign.[2] Nick Fiorenza[3] The Chinese asterism T’ien-Youen, the Celestial Abyss. Other names for it were T’ien-Chi, the Celestial Lake or T’ien-Hai, the Celestial Sea. Just east of the Celestial Abyss was Kiou-K’an, the Nine Canals. These represented the beginning of field works and the inundation of fields to make them ready for sowing and planting new crops. Might the Celestial Abyss or Sea be a reference to a chasm that confronts evolving man. A chasm that will require a change of paradigm from reason to feelings.