Thomistic Thoughts on Changing Representations of Self and Other

摘要

ALEXANDRA PARVAN'S APPROPRIATION of Augustine's metaphysical distinction between self and action is both creative and laudable. It surely has the potential to add an important element to the treatment of both victims and perpetrators of violence by helping them to change negative self-models that puts them at risk "for both receipt and perpetration of relationship violence" (Parvan, 2017, p. 242). What I would like to do is suggest ways that this potential might be increased i) through a more refined understanding of Augustine's distinction between self and action, and ii) through the appropriation of later medieval developments in philosophical psychology, developments that find their classic formulation in the mature writings of Thomas Aquinas.