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Arquivo Pessoa

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Fernando Pessoa

Psychological automatism. The natural form of human action.

Psychological automatism. The natural form of human action. Human consciousness the centralization of the automatism of our faculties in the mind.

«The beautiful is the beautiful.» All primitive ideas are indefinable; if we think to define them, it is a pure illusion. They are only defined by themselves. Thus plurality, space, time, etc.

«Time is the order of duration.» But duration supposes time.

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Critique of argument of determinism. «True I cannot think as I will, nor be a genius or a fool at pleasure. But I can think it possible to live without eating, or to jump from here to the moon. That is to say, I can choose my thoughts, wild or not, within the sphere of necessity imposed by my general nature. Thus, I may be incapable of acts of great benevolence, but I may be able to choose between giving a counterfeit shilling to anyone or not giving it.» This answer is false, rests on a false basis. What is not indeterminate is determinate; there is no avoiding this. What is not free is unfree; this cannot be denied. Necessity and freedom cannot be found together. Matter is a shell of properties. Spirit is the matter thereof.

1906

Textos Filosóficos . Vol. I. Fernando Pessoa. (Estabelecidos e prefaciados por António de Pina Coelho.) Lisboa: Ática, 1968 (imp. 1993).

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