Burton, Robert On Being Certain UCSF
<p>Oct 9, 2009 1:17 PM  book was release in Feb 2008 
 
back cover: he shows that the feeling of certainty is a feeling that comes from sources beyond our control.
a mental sensation  (rather than evidnece)  but  feeling comes from primitive brain areas.
 
grad from Yale and UCSF and also did neuro res there.
age 33:  Chief of Neuro at Mt Z.   Lives in Sausalito.
 
review by M. Burns top reviewer: is terrific and relevant for me...
 
In my theistic discussions; I am often fascinated (stymied) at the level of certainty that some theists have in the validity of their religious narrative...often in the face of clear contradictory empirical evidence.
 
He provides evidence that the feeling (or emotion' more accurately) is a primary emotion' and refers to it as the "feeling of knowing" (he did not shorten it to an acronym, I think, because of the obvious, awkward acronym that would result).
 
<b>While we may be unable to answer a specific, granular question on a topic, we can effectively eliminate the wrong answers...and Burton's book does go a long way in eliminating some of those wrong answers (at least for those open to empirical evidence)</b>.
 
One interesting point Burton makes is there are some emotions that we can induce through direct electrical stimulation of very specific regions of the brain. One example is the <b>"sense of another presence" </b>(i.e. that there is someone or something nearby). Another example is the <b>disruption/manipulation of the "sense of self" where we can feel separate from our bodies (floating) or feel "at one" with our surroundings.</b> The point of his book, of course, is that<b> "feeling of knowing" which can be elicited through electrical stimulation.</b> Burton calls these "primary emotions" and are localized to very specific areas of the brain.
 
below is from Kevin Currie-Knights review #1
 
The author also spends quite a bit of time talking about what neuroscientists term the <b>"hidden layer." That is, when we make decisions, the brain "surveys" a whole host of things - past experiences, attitudes one has acquired, things one has learned, etc. - to come to a conclusion, but this is all "hidden" form our consciousness. Thus, the author concludes that while we may feel like our deliberations are conscious, often the bulk of our deliberation is unconscious.</b>
 
 
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