Comments on: What I’ve been reading….

By: Glenda Larke

Glenda Larke — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 17:09:13 +0000

Sorry about the delay in posting your comments.

And: Yes, do look out for both books. They really prompted me into all kinds of interesting wondering — as well as being entertaining in themselves.

By: Marina

Marina — Tue, 28 May 2013 01:38:11 +0000

Interesting question! Is it just memories that shapes a personality? If you lost your personal memories, would you still (for instance) have the same political leanings? Could a person who was once a die-hard Liberal voter suddenly become a Labor supporter because they couldn't remember the personal experiences that had informed their political position? Or would you still believe in God — or not — without your personal memories?

It seems to me you could still be, say, a God-fearing Liberal, or atheist Labor voter, even without personal memories. And such beliefs shape the kind of person you are. Whether or not you like telling jokes, or like to lead an active lifestyle — these, I think, are parts of personality that wouldn't depend on memories.

Hope I never find out, though!

I must say, those books sound cool. Must look out for them. I love books about people losing their memories. In fact, I like them so much I'm in the middle of writing one myself …

By: Satima Flavell

Satima Flavell — Fri, 24 May 2013 20:40:16 +0000

Having seen my mother and my eldest sister fade away with dementia, I agree with Jo – we're probably living too long, possibly with a dementia-inducing lifestyle to boot.

But when it comes to 'self', I go along with the Buddha's teaching that there is nothing permanent there in the first place, so what fades away? Who dies? We change all the time, along with everything else, so memory loss or no, I am a different person from the one I was at, say, age 7 – or even the one I was yesterday. Looked at in that way, it's obvious that I die and I am recreated, second by millisecond. There is no permanent, ongoing me – only constant change.

Those two books sound jolly good, though. 🙂

By: Jo

Jo — Wed, 22 May 2013 05:39:27 +0000

What a horrid thought, but I guess you, before you that is, are dead in that circumstance. I think memory loss is a terrible thing, dementia and Alzheimer's for instance. We see so many instances of it these days, maybe we are living too long.