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The ‘End’ of Memory: Memory, the Porous Self, and the Communion of Saints in Augustine's Confessions

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Peer-reviewed

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Article

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Abstract

This article presents a brief, constructive, theological account of memory in response to contemporary questions regarding memory loss via Augustine’s account of memory, which elucidates the remembering subject’s openness and relatedness to God and the communion of saints. First, I examine Augustine’s Confessions, showing how memory is embodied, affective, and cogitative, and that memory’s end is in relation to God and the communion of saints. Afterwards, I consider the resonances between Augustine’s account of memory and two threads of research in dementia studies—namely, the notion of the ‘embodied self’ and the concept of memory ‘extension’—in order to propose how such a reading of Augustine on memory might contribute towards theological accounts and responses to memory impairment or loss.

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Keywords

5005 Theology, 50 Philosophy and Religious Studies, Alzheimer's Disease including Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (AD/ADRD), Neurodegenerative, Neurosciences, Dementia, Brain Disorders, Acquired Cognitive Impairment, Aging, Behavioral and Social Science

Journal Title

International Journal of Systematic Theology

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1463-1652
1468-2400

Volume Title

Publisher

Wiley