Publisher's Synopsis
The fifteen studies here reflect the author's interest in Greek and Roman concepts of human identity, the nature of mind and soul, and such psychological processes as sense-perception, imagination, memory, and time-awareness. The study of these themes in Plotinus and Augustine dominates the collection, but Boethius also features, as well as religious and historical themes in Augustine's City of God. The emphasis throughout is on controversial topics, and seeks to answer the following questions: Does Plotinus anticipate modern philosophy in having a concept of the self? How original are Plotinus' and Augustine's views of memory and time-consciousness? Does Augustine ever argue for the human soul's pre-existence, and why is he uncertain about its origin? Can Augustine's concept of freedom be rescued from the apparently deterministic tendency of his thought on the will? How indebted is Augustine to the views of Roman writers like Varro and Cicero, even when he polemically rejects them?
