--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Emotion is set in our genome and that we…" description: "\"Emotion is set in our genome and that we all have with a certain programmed nature that is modified by our experience so individually we have variation..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb2/antonio-damasio-9144_certain_emotion-is-set-in-our-genome-and-that-we_1787044.jpg" --- # Emotion is set in our genome and that we all have with a… ![“Emotion is set in our genome and that we all have with a certain programmed nature that is modified by our experience so individually we have variations on the pattern. But in essence, your emotion of joy and mine are going to be extremely similar.” quote by Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb2/antonio-damasio-9144_certain_emotion-is-set-in-our-genome-and-that-we_1787044.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb2/antonio-damasio-9144_certain_emotion-is-set-in-our-genome-and-that-we_1787044.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb2/antonio-damasio-9144_certain_emotion-is-set-in-our-genome-and-that-we_1787044.jpg) > “Emotion is set in our genome and that we all have with a certain programmed nature that is modified by our experience so individually we have variations on the pattern. But in essence, your emotion of joy and mine are going to be extremely similar.” [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. The quote explains emotions are genetically programmed but shaped by experience, leading to similar basic feelings across people. **In simple terms:** Emotions are partly genetic, partly shaped by experience, making basic feelings alike. Key Takeaway Understand both innate and learned aspects of emotion. Themes neuroscience psychology emotion Mood analytical empathetic Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - therapy sessions - team building - cross‑cultural studies Key Concepts genetics plasticity shared humanity Questions to Reflect On - How do experiences alter emotional responses? - What role does genetics play in empathy? A Different Perspective Individual variations can be significant. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Emotion Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion-joy-1912403/) [Emotion Set](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion-set-1912404/) [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Essence Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence-emotion-1912405/) [Genome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genome/) [Genome Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genome-certain-1912406/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Mines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mines/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) [Variation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/variation/) ## Related quotes > [In da quiet of Eve…reflections,... surmising da smiles, da sadness, da peace, da very essence of emotion n humanity based withn thyself …to embrace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/char-arizona/in-da-quiet-of-eve-reflections-surmising-da-smiles-da-sadness-da/) [Char Arizona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/char-arizona/) > [There's been a boiling down of real emotion into a set pattern instead of individualism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skeet-ulrich/there-s-been-a-boiling-down-of-real-emotion-into-a-set-pattern/) [Skeet Ulrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skeet-ulrich/) > [“Happiness is a feeling/emotion, but Joy is state of 'being'. One does not depend on your external circumstances, the other does.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-white/happiness-is-a-feeling-emotion-but-joy-is-state-of-being-one-does-not/) [Jason White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-white/) > [“Now some of you will say that the two are one and the same - happiness and joy - but this is not so.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-long/now-some-of-you-will-say-that-the-two-are-one-and-the-same-happiness/) [Kelly Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-long/) > [“to have compassion (co-feeling) means not only to be able to live with other's misfortune but also to feel with him any emotion -joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/to-have-compassion-co-feeling-means-not-only-to-be-able-to-live-with/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I think there are people who's lives have been saved because of the study of the genome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/i-think-there-are-people-who-s-lives-have-been-saved-because-of-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [Recently, results of the Human Genome Project have shattered one of Science's fundamental core beliefs, the concept of genetic determinism. We have been led…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-h-lipton/recently-results-of-the-human-genome-project-have-shattered-one-of/) [Bruce H. Lipton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-h-lipton/) > [Though social eugenics was discredited long ago, we still often think of the genome in quasi-eugenic terms. When we read about the latest discovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-wolf/though-social-eugenics-was-discredited-long-ago-we-still-often-think/) [Gary Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-wolf/) > [“In other words, the more genomically complex the organism, the larger the percentage of the genome devoted to gene regulation by the environment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/in-other-words-the-more-genomically-complex-the-organism-the-larger/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [While the Environmental Genome Project does not seek to assign allele frequencies, we are aware of the importance of accurate allele frequency estimates for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-wilson/while-the-environmental-genome-project-does-not-seek-to-assign-allele/) [Samuel Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-wilson/) > [By being able to write a genome and plug it into an organism, the software, if you will, changes the hardware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schuler/by-being-able-to-write-a-genome-and-plug-it-into-an-organism-the/) [Barry Schuler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schuler/) > [“Every new discovery about the genome is consistent with evolution having happened. Whether we find it appealing or not is another question, but personally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/every-new-discovery-about-the-genome-is-consistent-with-evolution/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [This is a whole new era where we're moving beyond little edits on single genes to being able to write whatever we want throughout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-m-church/this-is-a-whole-new-era-where-we-re-moving-beyond-little-edits-on/) [George M. Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-m-church/) > [An important finding is that by determining the genome sequences of an entire family, one can identify many DNA sequencing errors and thus greatly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/an-important-finding-is-that-by-determining-the-genome-sequences-of/) [Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/) > [ \[Decoding the human genome sequence\] is the most significant undertaking that we have mounted so far in an organized way in all of science.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/decoding-the-human-genome-sequence-is-the-most-significant/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) ## 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 self that is very robust, that has many, many levels of organization, from simple to complex, and that functions as a sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/a-self-that-is-very-robust-that-has-many-many-levels-of-organization/) [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. 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