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Single Idea 22984
[filed under theme 16. Persons / D. Continuity of the Self / 2. Mental Continuity / a. Memory is Self
]
Full Idea
I do not understand the power of memory that is in myself, although without it I could not even speak of myself.
Gist of Idea
Without memory I could not even speak of myself
Source
Augustine (Confessions [c.398], X.16)
Book Ref
Augustine: 'Confessions', ed/tr. Pine-Coffin,R.S. [Penguin 1961], p.223
A Reaction
Even if the self is not identical with memory, this idea seems to establish that memory is an essential aspect of the self. This point is neglected by those who see the self as an entity (the 'soul pearl') which persists through all experience.
The
33 ideas
from Augustine
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16702
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All things are in the present time to God
[Augustine]
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3912
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I must exist in order to be mistaken, so that even if I am mistaken, I can't be wrong about my own existence
[Augustine]
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6683
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The contact of spirit and body is utterly amazing, and incomprehensible
[Augustine]
|
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22887
|
If God existed before creation, why would a perfect being desire to change things?
[Augustine, by Bardon]
|
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22888
|
To be aware of time it can only exist in the mind, as memory or anticipation
[Augustine, by Bardon]
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22978
|
Memory is so vast that I cannot recognise it as part of my mind
[Augustine]
|
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22976
|
Memories are preserved separately, according to category
[Augustine]
|
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22977
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I can distinguish different smells even when I am not experiencing them
[Augustine]
|
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22979
|
Three main questions seem to be whether a thing is, what it is, and what sort it is
[Augustine]
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22980
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Memory contains innumerable principles of maths, as well as past sense experiences
[Augustine]
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22981
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Mind and memory are the same, as shown in 'bear it in mind' or 'it slipped from mind'
[Augustine]
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22982
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Why does joy in my mind make me happy, but joy in my memory doesn't?
[Augustine]
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22983
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We would avoid remembering sorrow or fear if that triggered the emotions afresh
[Augustine]
|
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22984
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Without memory I could not even speak of myself
[Augustine]
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22985
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Everyone wants happiness
[Augustine]
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5976
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If God is outside time in eternity, can He hear prayers?
[Augustine]
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5977
|
Heaven and earth must be created, because they are subject to change
[Augustine]
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5979
|
If the past is no longer, and the future is not yet, how can they exist?
[Augustine]
|
|
5978
|
I know what time is, until someone asks me to explain it
[Augustine]
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5981
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The whole of the current year is not present, so how can it exist?
[Augustine]
|
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5980
|
How can ten days ahead be a short time, if it doesn't exist?
[Augustine]
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5982
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If the future does not exist, how can prophets see it?
[Augustine]
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5983
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I disagree with the idea that time is nothing but cosmic movement
[Augustine]
|
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5984
|
Maybe time is an extension of the mind
[Augustine]
|
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16588
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I prefer a lack of form to mean non-existence, than to think of some quasi-existence
[Augustine]
|
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22118
|
Augustine created the modern concept of the will
[Augustine, by Matthews]
|
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7821
|
Pagans produced three hundred definitions of the highest good
[Augustine, by Grayling]
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4348
|
Love, and do what you will
[Augustine]
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22167
|
Our images of bodies are not produced by the bodies, but by our own minds
[Augustine, by Aquinas]
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22117
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Our minds grasp reality by direct illumination (rather than abstraction from experience)
[Augustine, by Matthews]
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22119
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Augustine said (unusually) that 'ought' does not imply 'can'
[Augustine, by Matthews]
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22116
|
Augustine identified Donatism, Pelagianism and Manicheism as the main heresies
[Augustine, by Matthews]
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19338
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Augustine said evil does not really exist, and evil is a limitation in goodness
[Augustine, by Perkins]
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