Remember or Remembered? Identity, Memory, And Dementia

I am who I am largely because of my biography, that is, the way people, places, and things have shaped me. I am not an idea but a storied creature with flesh and blood and history. But who am I if I lose my memory of others--and even myself--as a consequence of dementia? Can I still be who I am at all if I do? If so, how?

For today’s episode of Greystone Conversations, we pause over a small portion of the full Greystone course module, Theological Anthropology, which features, among many other things, several lectures on the phenomenon of dementia. In the small section featured here, we wrap up some reflections on the philosopher Robert Spaemann and tease out some rich and helpful insights on dementia from John Swinton and Rowan Williams. Along the way, it is suggested that the challenge of dementia in relation to the human person, and to the stability of our identity, is a focal point of the Gospel of God and the God of the Gospel. Among the blessings of that Gospel is this simple and profound truth: we are constituted in our identity, and stable in that identity, not because we remember, but because we are remembered. If that sounds a bit like the popular 2007 Pixar film, Coco, I agree: in fact I think this is the chief reason that film is so compelling!

But the remembering we are considering for our purposes is far grander and more powerful than the bond we have with those who came before us and who will follow us. We are stable and secure in who we are not because we remember but because God remembers us. That apparently quite straightforward observation in fact invites, perhaps even requires, some patient reflection and meditation, and I hope today’s selection will help us all a step or two down that path.

If you enjoy today's Greystone Conversations episode, the Theological Anthropology course module is available to all Greystone Members at Greystone Connect, along with many other modules available in our growing course library.