Antonio Damasio on Reason

Interesting thought from Antonio Damasio (a "renowned" neurologist):

"Nature appears to have built the apparatus of rationality not just on top of the apparatus of biological regulation, but also from it and with it. The mechanisms for behavior beyond drives and instincts use, I believe, both the upstairs and the downstairs: The neocortex becomes engaged along with the older brain core, and rationality results from their concerted activity." (Descartes' Error, page 128).

Upstairs=neocortex

Downstairs=subcortex

Bibliographical Information: Antonio Damasio, Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain. New York: Penguin Books, 2005.