Self-awareness early philosophical discussion of self-awareness is that of John Locke. Locke was apparently influenced by René Descartes' statement normally translated 'I think, therefore I am' ("Cogito ergo sum"). In chapter XXVII "On Identity and Diversity" of Locke's "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding" (1689) he conceptualized consciousness as the repeated self-identification of oneself through which moral responsibility could be attributed to the subject—and therefore punishment and guiltiness justified, as critics such as Nietzsche would point out, affirming "...the psychology of conscience is not 'the voice of God in man'; it is the instinct of cruelty ... expressed, for the first time,
Mr. Cogito Departure"). Two Cogito-related texts may be found there. The first one, dedicated to Władysław Walczykiewicz, is entitled "From Mr. Cogito on the Set Topic: Friends Depart" and bears the weight of nostalgic memories of the old times and companions gone. The second poem – "The Calendars of Mr. Cogito" – has a similar atmosphere. Written for Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, it mentions the feelings accompanying Mr. Cogito, who flicks through his old pocket calendars and finds the forgotten names and notes, covered with the mist of time. "Epilogue of the Storm" was released in 1998 and happened to be the last poetry