D. L. Dusenbury argues that Augustine’s concept of time as a “dilation of the soul” (distentio animi) has been fundamentally misinterpreted since the 13th century. Time in Confessions XI is a dilation of the senses – in beasts, as in humans.
The Space of Time is a path-breaking work on Confessions X to XII and a ranging contribution to the history of the concept of time.
From the reviews:
The International Journal of the Platonic Tradition 9 (2015): “[A] highly erudite and enthusiastically written account … [A] fine new study on Augustine’s concept of time in Confessions, which should be heeded by all who take an interest in the philosophical study of time.”
Louvain Studies 38 (2014): “An inventive reading of Augustine on time … Dusenbury’s book deftly applies its broad intellectual scope and erudite sense for detail to a refined – yet undoubtedly central – section of Augustine’s oeuvre.”
Phronesis 60 (2015): “A ‘post-phenomenological’ reading of Augustine on time, The Space of Time … argues through close engagement with the Latin text.”
Other praise for The Space of Time:
James J. O’Donnell, University Professor of Classics,Georgetown University: “Dusenbury has succeeded where Augustine never quite achieved stability: in parsing and rationalizing his complex, subtle, and important view of time.”
Gerard O’Daly, Emeritus Professor of Latin,University College London: “A novel reading of Confessions X to XII. [This] comprehensive analysis – lucid and stimulating – advances our understanding of Augustine’s views on time, temporality and memory.”
Johannes Hoff, Professor of Systematic Theology,Heythrop College, University of London: “Dusenbury uses philosophical ‘outsider’ perspectives on Augustine as point of departure for a complex, philologically cautious and profoundly contextualized reading of the Confessions.”
James Luchte, Senior Lecturer of Philosophy,University of Wales, Trinity Saint David: “The Space of Time continues a new approach by philosophers, such as Lyotard, to read Augustine philosophically. … It is through such a reading that we realize the debt that Husserl, Heidegger and others have towards Augustine.”
D. L. Dusenbury 