Why depression feels bad

Solms, Mark; Panksepp, Jaak

doi:10.1075/aicr.79.23sol

In:New Horizons in the Neuroscience of Consciousness
Edited by Elaine K. Perry, Daniel Collerton, Fiona E.N. LeBeau and Heather Ashton
[Advances in Consciousness Research 79] 2010
► pp. 169–178

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Why depression feels bad

Mark Solms

Jaak Panksepp

Published online: 28 October 2010

https://doi.org/10.1075/aicr.79.23sol

We believe that conscious mental phenomena (such as feelings) are not epiphenomenal to the workings of the brain. Feelings evolved for good biological reasons; they make specific, concrete contributions to brain functioning. Notwithstanding all the philosophical complexities, therefore, the non-conscious/conscious interactions that are the focus of this book are, in our view, causal interactions. To marginalize consciousness in relation to what is ultimately a cdualistic scientific understanding of how the brain works is likely to lead us astray. We illustrate this view by trying to address the question: why does depression feel bad?

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