I remember what Old Joe Hun said when arguing with Adrian: that mental states can be inferred from actions. That’s in history– Henry VIII and all that. Whereas in the private life, I think the converse is true: that you can infer past actions from current mental states.

Julian Barnes
About This Quote

When we think about the past, we often talk about it in terms of what we did and said. But, what is actually going on in the brain when we do such things? Mental states like memory and pride or shame can be inferred from actions like walking or talking. But what if we think about the past in terms of mental states? What if we make inferences about how our brains are working right now? Then we can know that what we say and do is a result of past events and how we feel about them.

Source: The Sense Of An Ending

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