Thoughts -Nate Strum

Nothing really struck a chord in these chapters, so I'll just post some thoughts.

I'm inclined to think that emotion generally muddles the mind, especially emotions induced by something that was intended to induce emotion, like music or film. I'm glad to find a strain of this thought in the late Augustine: "But what quality of mercy is it in fictitious and theatrical inventions?"(B3, ii, 2) A related insight is that people do not generally enjoy grief due to the death of a relative, but they may enjoy "grieving" for a fictitious character.(B3, ii, 4) 

I'm always on the lookout for a potential synthetic a priori proposition that I have not seen before: "Where is there where I cannot pursue myself?"(B4, vii, 12) As long as you are conscious you can't escape your own mind.

My overall takeaway here was that, contrary to my own previous perception, Augustine was not merely an ignorant libertine prior to his conversion. He was clearly in the midst of the intelligentsia and spent his time seriously tackling philosophical problems. While he was "the most wicked slave of evil lusts," he was also devouring all the literature of various fields available to him.(B4, xvi, 30) To me, the depraved scholar thing does not sit well. Perhaps he exaggerates his wickedness.

-Nate

P.S. I commented on Evers's and Brady's posts.