Memory: A History

by Dmitri Nikulin (editor)

In recent decades, memory has become one of the major concepts and a dominant topic in philosophy, sociology, politics, history, science, cultural studies, literary theory, and the discussions of trauma and the Holocaust. In contemporary debates, the concept of memory is often used rather broadly and thus not always unambiguously. For this reason, the clarification of the range of the historical meaning of the concept of memory is a very important and urgent task. This volume shows how the concept of memory has been used and appropriated in different historical circumstances and how it has changed throughout the history of philosophy. In ancient philosophy, memory was considered a repository of sensible and mental impressions and was complemented by recollection-the process of recovering the content of past thoughts and perceptions. Such an understanding of memory led to the development both of mnemotechnics and the attempts to locate memory within the structure of cognitive faculties. In contemporary philosophical and historical debates, memory frequently substitutes for reason by becoming a predominant capacity to which one refers when one wants to explain not only the personal identity but also a historical, political, or social phenomenon. In contemporary interpretation, it is memory, and not reason, that acts in and through human actions and history, which is a critical reaction to the overly rationalized and simplified concept of reason in the Enlightenment. Moreover, in modernity memory has taken on one of the most distinctive features of it is thought of as capable not only of recollecting past events and meanings, but also itself. In this respect, the volume can be also taken as a reflective philosophical attempt by memory to recall itself, its functioning and transformations throughout its own history.

413 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 7, 2015

Reviews

[Arman Behrad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unstructured and disintegrated essay about memory. It was really boring!

[Michael Kenan Baldwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag. The introduction and framing left a lot to be desired...unfortunately, Nikulin has drunk a lot of continental postmodern Kool-Aid. His actual entry on ancient philosophy was better, and had the occasional insight, but vacillated between stating the obvious and stating the obfuscatory. The later chapter on continental philosophy was similarly as to be expected.
The chapter on memory in medieval philosophy was very good, concise, and illuminating, as was the one on analytic philosophy. The surprising highlight though was a brief but fascinating reflection on remembrance and forgetfulness in Chinese Taoism, which pushes directly against Confucianism as it so often does. Lots to ponder!
Overall this book highlighted how a writer's place for memory is often determined by his or her position on the mental faculties more broadly, which pushes the question back a step. Thankfully, this brilliant series (Oxford Philosophical Concepts) has another entire volume on the faculties edited by Dominik Perler. So the endless book-to-book rat chase continues. Onto the next one!