Abstract

Does what is wholly past provoke no emotion? Should we feel the same about past and future non-existence? Ought we to remember good things in the past, and bad equally, the good to distract from present pain, the bad to create a narrative of self, or because there is pleasure in remembering bad survived? But then there is pain in remembering pleasure lost. Is repentance good or bad? Is hope good, or should we pin no hopes on the future? Does anticipating misfortune fortify or depress? Is planning for the future needed for self-identity? Should we ignore both past and future, or abstract from time altogether? Does prolongation or delay make a difference, or an endless recurrence of history, or discontinuous, or dispersible, or everlasting selves? Can we create a persona through memory, or through choices? Can we create an inviolable self?