Augustine’s Self-Knowledge in Animals

Authors

  • Karel Klozar Faculty of Theology, University of South Bohemia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26806/fd.v11i1.300

Abstract

This paper focuses on Augustine’s concept of self-knowledge or self-awareness in non-rational animals through examining the relation between external senses, internal sense and rationality. The explanation of what causes motion in non-rational living beings is quite puzzling in the case of animal’s self-perception – for what reason do they move, sense or live. This motivation is also connected to the self-preservation principle, which is one of the two sources of confusion regarding self-perception in animals; the other one is the ability of internal sense or anima to perceive themselves, other animals and humans as alive – in spite of the fact that this can in no way be sensory information.

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Published

2019-10-21