Douglas Stones

Augustine of Hippo - The Greatness of the Soul. Douglas Stones

De quantitate animae content scheme. I. The six questions concerning the soul (I,1) II. First question: the "derivation" of the soul (I, 2) III. Second question: the ontological quality of the soul (II,3) IV. Third question: the greatness of the soul. Premise: greatness can be understood in two ways, as extension and as power (III,4) V. The soul is not "great" in the sense of extension (III,4-XXXII,69) 1 - There are important realities without extension: the example of justice (IV,5) 2 - Every body is extensive in length, width and depth (IV,6) 3 - If the soul were extensive as to the body it is in, it could not contain images much larger than the latter (V,7-9) 4 - The capacity of containing in the memory large extensions does not imply that the soul is itself also extensive, as it demonstrates its capacity of distinguishing and separating the three spatial dimensions of the bodies (VI,10-XV,25) 5 - The "growth" of the soul with age (learning) is not spatial (XV,26-XXII,40) 6 - Sensibility in the whole body does not imply that the soul is extensive as to the body and, therefore, that it is endowed with a spatial greatness, as results from the correct definition of sensation (XXIII,41-XXX,61) 7 - The vitality of severed parts of an animal like the insect of many feet does not imply the divisibility of the soul, as the analogy with sleep shows (XXXI,62-XXXII,68) 8 - The problem of the number of souls (XXXII,69) VI. The true greatness of the soul is its value (XXXIII,70-XXXVI,80) 1- The seven degrees of activity of the soul (XXXIII,70-76) 2 - Consequences on the religious plane (XXXIV, 77 -XXXVI, 80) VII. The last three questions. Conclusion (XXXVI,81)