How did humans become human—and where did that which we call culture originate? The world-renowned Portuguese neuroscientist Antonio Damasio (Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain) has a surprising answer: not sense or intellect, but emotions were the decisive factor. In his latest book, The Strange Order of Things: Life, Feeling, and the Making of Cultures, he takes a fresh, exciting look at the foundations of human civilization.

In conversation with Daniel Barenboim, Antonio Damasio will present the book at the Pierre Boulez Saal. The two panelists will also discuss the role of music in our emotional lives. As the first ever Wasmuth Lecture, this event inaugurates a new series made possible by the generous support of the Johannes Wasmuth Foundation, an organization that preserves the legacy of gallery owner, impresario, and curator Johannes Wasmuth, who died in 1997. Wasmuth’s impressive personality and artistic expertise laid the foundations for many projects, including the Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck near Bonn.

A presentation of the Barenboim-Said Akademie at the Pierre Boulez Saal.

Students of the Barenboim-Said Akademie will perform works by Elliott Carter.

Conversation in English. Simultaneous German translation will be available, with headphones provided. A valid photo ID (or alternatively €50) must be presented as security deposit.