The Booker-prize winning novelist reflects on the times in his life when recollection and imagination have intertwined, and wonders whether we can ever rely on our brains to provide us with the truthIt sounds a simple business. “I changed my mind.” Subject, verb, object – a clear, clean action, without correcting or diminishing adjectives or adverbs. “No, I’m not doing that – I changed my mind” is usually an irrefutable statement. It implies the presence of strong arguments which can be provided if necessary. The economist John Maynard Keynes, charged with inconsistency, famously replied, “When the facts change, I change my mind.” So, he – and we – are happily and confidently in charge of this whole operation. The world may sadly incline to inconsistency, but not us.And yet the phrase covers a great variety of mental activities, some seemingly rational and logical, others elemental and instinctive. There may be a simmering-away beneath the level of consciousness until the bursting r...
Julian Barnes discusses the act of changing one's mind, viewing it as a positive shift towards greater truthfulness and realism. He explores the relationship between "I" and "mind," questioning whether the "I" controls the mind or vice versa. Barnes connects changing one's mind to memory, suggesting we forget previous beliefs in favor of what we now perceive as truer.
