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The age-old mystery of consciousness – our capacity to experience our own existence and have a sense of ourselves – remains unsolved despite the extensive efforts of neurobiologists and philosophers. What if the secret to consciousness lies not in abstract thought, but in the very feelings that pulse beneath our awareness?

In this groundbreaking work, renowned neuroscientist Antonio Damasio overturns centuries of thinking about consciousness by demonstrating how it emerges not from the highest functions of the brain but from the humble functions of the nervous system. Damasio shares his cutting-edge research on human neurology and psychology, and explains how brain, mind, and body come together to generate consciousness.

He explores the profound implications for understanding human creativity, morality, and culture – and confronts the existential questions raised by the extraordinary new capabilities of artificial intelligence, in an impassioned defence of human consciousness as a unique force which must be understood and valued if we are to progress as a society.