志异 Draft by Drama box december 2013 (english) | Page 38
d ra ft v ol 2 i ss ue 2
m e m o r y x s p ac e
g u es t c ol u mn
38
P e rs p e c ti ve
The work of the early 20th
century French philosopher, Henri
Bergson, is of particular relevance
in any consideration of memory. In
his book, Matter and Memory, Bergson
sketches a texture of memory that
moves beyond memory’s role as ‘a
store of recollections’ to one that
‘illuminate(s) the present situation
with a view to ultimate action’1. In
this perspective, memory is brought
upfront as agency in mediating the
relentless imprint of life on time
and consciousness. Time is duration,
a term introduced by Bergson which
poignantly illustrates the fluid and
heterogeneous dimension within which
memory meanders in a non-material
world that can only be perceived
intuitively.
Bergson’s call for intuitive
understanding and empathy is useful
when faced with the liquid dimension
of memory, in the complex interface
between an incident and its
recollection as reflected in the
case of trauma, flashback, and false
memory or when encountering differing
witness recollections of an incident.
For example, the Japanese writer,
Ryunosuke Akutagawa, in his classic
short story Rasho [???\??]\? B??]?[? ??H]\?\? ??Y? ?]?[?????X?Y \?[[?Y\?[?? Y[?]? H]\?\?\?[? B?]\?\?YX[??H \?[[?Y\? ?\?[? H ?Y]??[? ?? ?]?[??[?]?Y X[ ?[?? Y[?? H ?\?]?? H]\?\?YX[? ???H \?[[?B?[? ? H ??K?H ]Y\?[? ]?Z?]Y?]?HX]?\? H ?XY\? ?]?\? ?X? ?\??[? ??[ ?H Z?K??\?H H ?\?X?]?H ?\??[???\???^\?? \??Z]?[??Y[[?O?\?\ ???H\?[??[?Y ??\? ? B?\?[[?H? H ?\?]? B?]\?\?YX[?\? ??X? H?Z[?????\? ? H ?]? H??[? ] H ?X?[x?&\? ??X?H\??[??H ?]?[Y?Y?H[? \?\??] ?]][?X?] H?\??\???[?[??X???[? ?Z?]Y?]?x?&\? ??B?[ \? ?]\? H ??H?Y[[?B?[?[?X?[?? ???H???? B?[X?]?[[?[??\??YY????\?Z[? H ???Y^\? ???