EMOTIONAL CLASH

The presence theory of Riva, Waterworth & Waterworth is based on the work of Antonio Damasio, which he described in his book "The Feeling of What Happens. Body, Emotion and the Making of Consciousness" (Damasio 2000). I used this work in chapter 2 as a basis to formulate my understanding of presence. Four years later Damasio published his next book "Looking for Spinoza - Joy, Sorrow and the Feeling Brain", which I will use to understand the role that emotions and feelings play in the clash between intention and realization in the actor's thinking (Damasio 2004). Damasio's research resonates with, and explains, my findings that people have to meet in natural presence when they are engaged in practices of contextual reflexivity and moments of innovation. But the impact of his insights goes much further and also explains why a perspective like the UDHR makes sense. I will first sketch Damasio's work in a condensed manner after which I will discuss possible implications for the research carried out here. Damasio's work is very rich and traverses disciplines, while at the same time it is strongly rooted in neurology. To really be able to build upon his work more research is required than this study can facilitate. Nevertheless, where possible I will try to indicate implications of his work for the research carried out here.