Ever since high school, I have heard and read about dichotomous thinking, the idea that a thing is or it isn't. Yet many aspects of my life seem gradual. I age gradually. My money gets spent gradually. My enthusiasm waxes and wanes gradually. Still, I was surprised by descriptions and statements in "Incognito" that depict the mind as a kind of parliament, arguing for and against an action or a stance. Eagleman says that when the pros and cons are too balanced, the issue gets kicked upstairs to the conscious mind for a decision.
When I have seen protests or hear rhetoric for or against some idea, I often wonder at statements that plead for higher levels of emotional expression. I thought that if I am in favor of a new highway, I am in favor. I have looked at the costs and benefits and seen which seems greater. I realize that there are some of each but I like to think that I make a decision and it is made. Sure, if new information surfaces or new advantages or problems emerge, I can and do re-think. But the idea that my brain itself operates on a relative-pressure basis seems surprising.
Yet, it does feel that way. I bought Antonio Damasio's "The Strange Order of Things." I know I have more books begun than I should. I know that I don't remember too much of what I have read. I certainly have more books in my Kindle archives than I am going to get to. I read about the book, which sounded like it is relevant to the subject of this post, and to much that I think about. I knew it might be helpful for me. I tried to weigh the positive feelings I had about the book carefully. A new sort of precaution and analytic step I have been taking lately is to download the free sample of the book that Amazon offers. I got the sample and started it.
The book is surprising and it is about human feelings and their place in our lives. It is about how the ability of having emotions might have arisen naturally, and traces that development all the way back to single cell life. Quite surprisingly, the author, an experienced neuroscientist, says repeatedly that he will move to the idea of homeostasis as the source of our feelings. You know homeostasis, the thermostat effect of keeping the body temperature and the blood acidity and many other levels of body components where they should be, adjusting them up or down to the best level for the body. I didn't know that was where he was going and I am surprised.
