The Topography of Memory: The Constitutive Relation Between Body Memory and Place Memory

Abstract

A new interest in space emerged in contemporary studies of body memory. According to Merleau-Ponty, the lived body constitutes a close connection between place and memory. The real or even imagined movements of the body contribute to the recollection of places. Recently, Edward S. Casey and Thomas Fuchs highlighted the constitutive role of the body in remembering. First, the paper intends to show the intertwined relation between body memory and place memory. For instance, Casey regards Proust’s madeleine experience as an instance of place memory, and he argues that the body can sustain and recollect place memories. According to Casey, modern philosophy neglected the concept of place, in which the lived body is dwelling, and introduced the concept of site; that is, the geometrical extension of a homogeneous and isotropic space. Second, the paper examines the psychological and emotional aspects of place memories. According to Fuchs, body and place memory constitute a horizontal unconscious that consists of the zones of attraction and avoidance of the lived space. Finally, the paper argues that place memory has much to offer to the phenomenological investigation of the self. Place memory eventuates the recollection of distant memories in an affectively charged form. This type of memory establishes an affective connection with the past and contributes to the preservation of personal identity.