Tom Gray wrote:
>
> This may not be entirely germane but modern brain
> theory links congnition and feelings (or emotion)
> extremely closely. Feelings are the basis of cognition
> and action in the world. There link to Eliot in this.
>
> [clip]  and Antono Damassio(Descarte’s
> Error).

This is essentially correct, but for Damasio "feelings (or emotion)"
would be distorting, since he sharply separates the two. For him (as for
William James a century ago) _emotion_ is a bodily state, a _feeling_ is
the perception of that bodily state. That is a central part of his book
_Descartes' Error_. All of Damasio's books are (I think) of
extraordinary interest.

The point behind his title is that the modern separation between "brain"
and "body" is as falsely dualistic as was Descartes' separation of of
"mind" and "body."

(Note: This is too crude a summary of a carefully written and detailed
book by a fine neuroscientist. I'm currently reading his book on
Spinoza, which is quite fascinating.)

Carrol