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Sarah is speaking about sex assault cases on Dec. 9th @ the Association of Defense Counsel’s annual meeting

Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason And The Human Brain

by Antonio Damasio A Harvest Book, Harcourt, Inc.

Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason And The Human Brain

With roots in Enlightenment visions of mind, our legal system is built on the idea that reason and emotion are separate phenomena — and that reason can rise above and control emotion. Antonio Damasio is one of the neuroscientists whose work has demolished that notion. This book lays out the ways in which emotion and reason are intertwined and emotions are essential to focusing attention, creating memories, and guiding decision-making, among other tasks. Read this book to understand how ridiculous it really is to say to a potential juror, “But you can set that feeling aside, can’t you?”