Abstract

This essay examines Augustine’s notion that a person can transcend temporal “distention” by “extending” his soul to God by way of “intention”. Augustine conceived of intentio as an activity of the will that functions to connect the soul to beings and objects in the world. Augustine links his notion of “intention” to the activity of “extending oneself to God”. How do the soul’s “intention” and “extension” work together to combat temporal “distention”? Augustine suggests that Paul extended himself to God but could not fully overcome distention. In his vision of God in Confessions 9, by contrast, Augustine transcends distention. Here, Augustine’s memory and self have been transcended as his soul “extends itself” to God “through intention.” Even in this state of self-transcendence, his intentio directs and connects his soul to God.