--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A self that is very robust, that has…" description: "\"A self that is very robust, that has many, many levels of organization, from simple to complex, and that functions as a sort of witness to what is goin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10b/antonio-damasio-9144_biology_a-self-that-is-very-robust-that-has-many_153221.png" --- # A self that is very robust, that has many, many levels of… ![“A self that is very robust, that has many, many levels of organization, from simple to complex, and that functions as a sort of witness to what is going on in our organisms.” quote by Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10b/antonio-damasio-9144_biology_a-self-that-is-very-robust-that-has-many_153221.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10b/antonio-damasio-9144_biology_a-self-that-is-very-robust-that-has-many_153221.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10b/antonio-damasio-9144_biology_a-self-that-is-very-robust-that-has-many_153221.png) > “A self that is very robust, that has many, many levels of organization, from simple to complex, and that functions as a sort of witness to what is going on in our organisms.” [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A robust self consists of many organized layers, acting as an internal observer of bodily processes. **In simple terms:** The self is a complex, layered observer. Key Takeaway Develop self‑awareness across levels. Themes psychology biology self-awareness Mood introspective curious Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - mental health - mindfulness - personal development Key Concepts neuroscience consciousness integration Questions to Reflect On - How do you notice internal signals? - What practices enhance self‑observation? A Different Perspective Complexity can hinder clear self‑interpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Organisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organisms/) [Organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organization/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) ## Related quotes > [A true personality . . . is like a robust organism that, with unconscious sureness, seeks out and digests the nourishment appropriate to it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/a-true-personality-is-like-a-robust-organism-that-with-unconscious/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) > [Now, a living organism is nothing but a wonderful machine endowed with the most marvellous properties and set going by means of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/now-a-living-organism-is-nothing-but-a-wonderful-machine-endowed-with/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [Society isn't a simple organism with one nucleus and a fringe of little feet, it's an infinitely complex living structure and if you try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/society-isn-t-a-simple-organism-with-one-nucleus-and-a-fringe-of/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [My feeling is that a human being or any complex organism has a system of cognitive structures that develop much in the way the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/my-feeling-is-that-a-human-being-or-any-complex-organism-has-a-system/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [We do not merely perceive objects and hold thoughts in our minds: all our perceptions and thought processes are felt. All have a distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/we-do-not-merely-perceive-objects-and-hold-thoughts-in-our-minds-all/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [The problem that we, as living organisms, face - and not we only, humans, but any living organism faces - is the management of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/the-problem-that-we-as-living-organisms-face-and-not-we-only-humans/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [In the heart of consciousness is subjectivity, this sense of having a self that observes one's own organism and the world around that organism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-the-heart-of-consciousness-is-subjectivity-this-sense-of-having-a/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Rather than being a luxury, emotions are a very intelligent way of driving an organism toward certain outcomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/rather-than-being-a-luxury-emotions-are-a-very-intelligent-way-of/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [In the remaining months, we should focus on achieving more robust international involvement in training of Iraqi soldiers, police officers, judges, teachers, and doctors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-olver/in-the-remaining-months-we-should-focus-on-achieving-more-robust/) [John Olver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-olver/) > [The investigator should have a robust faith - and yet not believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/the-investigator-should-have-a-robust-faith-and-yet-not-believe/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [A healthy woman is much like a wolf: robust, chock-full, strong life force, life-giving, territorially aware, inventive, loyal, roving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/a-healthy-woman-is-much-like-a-wolf-robust-chock-full-strong-life/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [Standing armies can never consist of resolute robust men; they may be well-disciplined machines, but they will seldom contain men under the influence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/standing-armies-can-never-consist-of-resolute-robust-men-they-may-be/) [Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/) > [Obama's gonna play Santa Claus with the minimum wage. He's got no successes to brag about. He cannot talk about a robust job market.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/obama-s-gonna-play-santa-claus-with-the-minimum-wage-he-s-got-no/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Willpower is the fuel that runs human life; Like a driver in a computer application, Or Operating System in cyber programme, Willpower works life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/praveen-kumar/willpower-is-the-fuel-that-runs-human-life-like-a-driver-in-a/) [Praveen Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/praveen-kumar/) > [My plant-based diet plus fish is to credit for my low blood pressure, high energy, and robust immunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-murdock/my-plant-based-diet-plus-fish-is-to-credit-for-my-low-blood-pressure/) [David H. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-murdock/) ## More by Antonio Damasio > [We are not thinking machines that feel; rather, we are feeling machines that think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/we-are-not-thinking-machines-that-feel-rather-we-are-feeling-machines/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Consciousness begins when brains acquire the power, the simple power I must add, of telling a story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/consciousness-begins-when-brains-acquire-the-power-the-simple-power-i/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [I got interested in the emotions after studying patients who had lost the ability to emote and feel under certain circumstances. Many of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/i-got-interested-in-the-emotions-after-studying-patients-who-had-lost/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Rather than being a luxury, emotions are a very intelligent way of driving an organism toward certain outcomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/rather-than-being-a-luxury-emotions-are-a-very-intelligent-way-of/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Of necessity, the autobiographical self is not just about one individual but about all the others that an individual interacts with. Of necessity, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/of-necessity-the-autobiographical-self-is-not-just-about-one/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [A mind is so closely shaped by the body and destined to serve it that only one mind could possibly arise in it. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/a-mind-is-so-closely-shaped-by-the-body-and-destined-to-serve-it-that/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [When you deal with something like compassion for physical pain, which we know is very, very old in evolution - we can find evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/when-you-deal-with-something-like-compassion-for-physical-pain-which/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [You can be highly concentrated on a person, on a problem, and be so good at excluding all other material that that becomes not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/you-can-be-highly-concentrated-on-a-person-on-a-problem-and-be-so/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [ We may express them \[emotions\] physically slightly differently, and it's of course graded depending on the circumstance, but the essence of the process is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/we-may-express-them-emotions-physically-slightly-differently-and-it-s/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [The autobiographical self is built on the basis of past memories and memories of the plans that we have made; it's the lived past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/the-autobiographical-self-is-built-on-the-basis-of-past-memories-and/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [It's very interesting to think about the distinction with mind, which I just made in very general terms, but it can be made more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/it-s-very-interesting-to-think-about-the-distinction-with-mind-which/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [ What happens \[in a coma\] is that you lose the grounding of the self, you no longer have access to any feeling of your… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/what-happens-in-a-coma-is-that-you-lose-the-grounding-of-the-self-you/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [All of that is constantly operating when you not only learn, but when you recall. But as you recall in a different light, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/all-of-that-is-constantly-operating-when-you-not-only-learn-but-when/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [When you experience the emotion of sadness, there will be changes in facial expression, and your body will be closed in, withdrawn. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/when-you-experience-the-emotion-of-sadness-there-will-be-changes-in/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) [Explore all 74 Antonio Damasio quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) ## More Biology quotes > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [“Genetics is a science full of gods, Mr. Sanchez.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sanchez/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [Evolution happens in jumps, very rapidly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-ferguson/evolution-happens-in-jumps-very-rapidly/) [Marilyn Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-ferguson/) > [“Toshiaki learned that all living organisms were governed by their DNA. He was impressed by perfection of this system.Why did existence have the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hideaki-sena/toshiaki-learned-that-all-living-organisms-were-governed-by-their-dna/) Hideaki Sena > [I'm all about evolution. I'm the first person to judge myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/i-m-all-about-evolution-i-m-the-first-person-to-judge-myself/) [The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spottiswoode/i-think-the-ethics-and-morals-of-genetic-engineering-are-very/) [Roger Spottiswoode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spottiswoode/) > [Biochemists and biologists who adhere blindly to the Darwinism theory search for results that will be in agreement with their theories and consequently orient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-paul-grasse/biochemists-and-biologists-who-adhere-blindly-to-the-darwinism-theory/) [Pierre-Paul Grasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-paul-grasse/) > [“A note of caution: epigenetics is also on the verge of transforming into a dangerous idea. Epigenetic modifications of genes can potentially superpose historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/a-note-of-caution-epigenetics-is-also-on-the-verge-of-transforming/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [Natural history is not taught in seminary. This is curious, as most people in pastoral ministry are about 567 times more likely to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-maitland/natural-history-is-not-taught-in-seminary-this-is-curious-as-most/) [Sara Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-maitland/) > [We are coming to a place where the road ends. From here on out, we will be making the road as we walk it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-atlee/we-are-coming-to-a-place-where-the-road-ends-from-here-on-out-we-will/) Tom Atlee > [I've always been interested in medicine and was pleased when my brother became a doctor. But after thinking seriously about that field, I realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-medicine-and-was-pleased-when-my/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [Evolution... is the most powerful and the most comprehensive idea that has ever arisen on Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-huxley/evolution-is-the-most-powerful-and-the-most-comprehensive-idea-that/) [Julian Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-huxley/) > [History employs evolution to structure biological events in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/history-employs-evolution-to-structure-biological-events-in-time/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Browse all 3,034 Biology quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A self that is very robust, that has many, many levels of organization, from simple to complex, and that functions as a sort of witness to what is going on in our organisms.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Antonio Damasio" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/a-self-that-is-very-robust-that-has-many-many-levels-of-organization/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Biology" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/a-self-that-is-very-robust-that-has-many-many-levels-of-organization/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10b/antonio-damasio-9144_biology_a-self-that-is-very-robust-that-has-many_153221.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10b/antonio-damasio-9144_biology_a-self-that-is-very-robust-that-has-many_153221.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10b/antonio-damasio-9144_biology_a-self-that-is-very-robust-that-has-many_153221.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A self that is very robust, that has many, many levels of organization, from simple to complex, and that…” — Antonio Damasio", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Antonio Damasio", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A self that is very robust,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/a-self-that-is-very-robust-that-has-many-many-levels-of-organization/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/a-self-that-is-very-robust-that-has-many-many-levels-of-organization/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```