review article Damasio’s Error? Consciousness & Emotion 4:1 (2003), 111–134. issn 1566–5836 / e-issn 1569–9706© John Benjamins Publishing Company Jaak Panksepp Northwestern University / Bowling Green State University Damasio, A. (2003). Looking for Spinoza: Joy, sorrow, and the feeling brain. Harcourt, Orlando. 355 pages, $28.00 Is there any more important a topic in the mind sciences than coming to terms with the affective values of the human brain? In his third major contribution to the ongoing discussion of how emotional “valuing” is organized in the human brain, Antonio Damasio skates gracefully over this large intellectual pond. As discussions of our emotional nature are again penetrating deeply into the humanities (e.g., McLemee, 2003), many recognize that a common denomi- nator for bringing clarity to this topic is a confrontation with the evolved nature of our emotional processes which does not neglect the diverse, socially con- structed cultural manifestations of our feelings. In the present offering Damasio seeks to captivate those outside the mind sciences, as he continues to argue for the importance of certain brain and body processes in the generation of the many emotional feelings that characterize the pains and satisfactions of individ- ual lives. This book reflects Damasio’s meditation on a topic of great personal interest to him rather than a balanced account of the scientific state of the field, I would note that my applause is directed more toward the former and my criticisms at the relative paucity of the latter. Spinoza’s thoughts about human emotions and their role in his philosophy of life frame Damasio’s meditations. These spiritual brothers have come to similar conclusions concerning the nature of the inner life. Thus, it is under- standable that Damasio’s arguments are contextualized more in personal terms than centered in a substantive history of this troubled field of inquiry. Read at this level, the book is a testament to the penetrating thoughts of an intellectual revolutionary of the 17th century as well as a modern pioneer who remains one of the few neuroscientists, in the emerging mind sciences of the 21st century, to unabashedly recognize the importance of emotional feelings in human affairs and for their role in organizing and underpinning consciousness and cognitions. In