What does "Descartes' error" consist in?

Recenzowane materiały z konferencji naukowej: Nowożytne rozważania o naturze ludzkiej, dn. 5-6 grudnia 2008 r., Kraków. Strona wydawcy: https://www.wuj.pl

The aim of this paper is to show that Descartes' theory of the passions of the soul anticipates A. Damasio's somatic marker hypothesis. Both are accounts of the mechanism of decision-making in practical situations involving limited knowledge of the consequences of our choices. This poses a challenge, especially for Descartes' rationalism. According to him, the passions are perceptions of the soul caused by the animal spirits. However, they can also influence our conscious decisions. The six basic, innately predetermined patterns of the flow of the animal spirits, correlated with the soul's perceptions, can be modified by social influences. Thus, the basic passions reflect the order of nature given by God, and the others

• the interactions between the subject and its social environment. So it seems that Descartes' theory of the passions of the soul allows us to retain a moderate version of rationalism with regard to our practical decisions.