We may smile and the dog may wag the tail, but in essence, we have a set program and those programs are similar across individuals in the species.
Antonio DamasioWriting long hand is the last refuge. One needs the time it takes to put pencil to paper and let it run along the ruled line.
Antonio DamasioAll of that is constantly operating when you not only learn, but when you recall. But as you recall in a different light, the weights with which something is more probably going to be or not recalled on the next instance, are going to be changed. So you're constantly changing the way, for instance, synapses are going to fire very easily or not so easily.
Antonio DamasioLeaving out appraisal also would render the biological description of the phenomena of emotion vulnerable to the caricature that emotions without an appraisal phase are meaningless events. It would be more difficult to see how beautiful and amazingly intelligent emotions can be, and how powerfully they can solve problems for us.
Antonio Damasio