More doom for Descartes

Reports that some scientists believe that emotion and reason may be inextricably linked within our brains so that decision making, particulary in social situations, might be impossible without a dollop of feelings. Evidence in the Phineas Gage case; Findings of the case; Conclusions of the scientist.

By PT Staff, published on November 01, 1994

FEELING AND REASON

Many of history's enlightened sages, from Descartes to our mothers, have dispensed the following wisdom to those of us trying to resolve an exasperating dilemma: "Calm down."

The suggestion stems, of course, from the idea that emotion interferes with rational thinking. But some scientists now think that emotion and reason may be inextricably linked within our brains, so that logical decision making, particularly in social situations, might be impossible without a dollop of feelings. An intriguing bit of evidence: the case of Phineas Gage.

Two remarkable things happened to Phineas in fall, 1848. The first was that a tamping iron, 43 inches long, one inch in diameter, pierced his brain in a construction explosion. The tapered metal rod tore through his left cheek, exited via the top of his skull, and landed more than a hundred feet away.

The other remarkable thing? Phineas survived.

Although his wound healed, our hero was a changed man. According to one acquaintance, Phineas had been a "shrewd, smart businessman, very energetic and persistent." The new Phineas, however, couldn't keep a decent job and reneged on commitments. His formidable intelligence remained intact, yet he now seemed oblivious to social conventions, swearing so vigorously women were advised to avoid his company.

More than a century later, a team of scientists thinks it understands Phineas's transformation. Armed with X rays of Phineas's skull and a battery of computers, the neurodetectives recreated on-line the tamping iron's gruesome journey through Phineas's brain.

Their conclusion: The rod wreaked havoc on Phineas's prefrontal cortex. According to University of Iowa neurologist Antonio Damasio, M.D., injury to this region of his brain "compromised Phineas's ability to conduct himself according to the social rules he previously had learned, to decide on the course of action that ultimately would be most advantageous to his survival, and to plan for the future."

Damasio, in Descartes' Error (Grosset/Putnam), says Phineas's behavior after the accident mirrors that of patients who suffer prefrontal damage from tumors. Their intellect, memory, and language skills are unchanged, but their ability to make social decisions is impaired and their emotion-processing machinery malfunctions or shuts down. The implication, says Damasio, is that reason and emotion are strange but inseparable bedfellows.