Memory as Acquaintance with the Past: Some Lessons from Russell, 1912-1914 (original) (raw)
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RUSSELL'S TWO THEORIES OF MEMORY
Russell: The Journal of Bertrand Russell Studies, 2017
In this paper I examine Russell’s account of memory in both the acquaintance and the neutral monist periods, more specifically, the years from 1910 until 1927, with emphasis on The Problems of Philosophy, Theory of Knowledge, and The Analysis of Mind. I argue that memory is central for understanding how knowledge works, which is the main reason it remained in the focus of Russell’s analysis even after the gradual shift to neutral monism. I propose that memory played a not insignificant role in that shift. While this paper aims to show that Russell’s theory of memory in the acquaintance period faced serious difficulties—mainly related to the commitment to direct realism—I argue that there is a consistent similarity and continuity between the theory of memory in the acquaintance period and that in the neutral monist period. Russell considered a similar type of memory to be paradigmatic and epistemically primary in both periods—a consideration, dictated, no doubt, by his commitment to the principles of Occam’s razor and psychological plausibility.
Notes on the hermeneutics of memory in social research
This paper attempted to inquire into the hermeneutics of memory from the perspective of social research. I borrowed from Philosophy, in particular, Charles Taylor's sense datum and brute datum utilizing them as hermeneutical key. I used autobiographical memories, a memory type originating from Cognitive Psychology to describe the memories of Mindanao of returned Ilongo migrants. Initially, I asked the questions: Is memory sense datum? What is memory's brute datum? The purpose for this is to establish somehow an epistemology of memory from the perspective of social research. This paper is divided in three sections, firstly, I examined the meaning (s) of memory and autobiographical memory in Cognitive Psychology. I presented empirical data autobiographical memories excerpts from my MA thesis entitled Memories of Mindanao of Returned Ilongo Migrants (1950s to 2000). Secondly, I presented empirical data on the process of remembering again excerpts were taken from the autobiographical memories of my research informants. To some extent, the epistemology of memory in social research was answered in this section. Lastly, I reiterated and posited some answers to the basic questions: Is memory sense-datum? What is its brute datum?
2018
This paper discusses the issue of the relationship of history and memory. Memory becomes a topic in historical discourses as it deals with identity, especially when we speak of collective memory. The paper presents the history of the relationship of history and memory and suggests a thesis according to which the close interaction between these two concepts can solve the crisis of identity that has been most urgent in our days.
Russellian Acquaintance Revisited
In Bertrand Russell’s writings during the first two decades of the Twentieth Century there occur two rather different distinctions that involve his much-discussed, technical notion of acquaintance. The first is the distinction between knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description; the second, the distinction between knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge of truths. This article examines the nature and philosophical purpose of these two distinctions, while also tracing the evolution of Russell’s notion of acquaintance. It argues that, when he first expressly formulates his Principle of Acquaintance in 1903, Russell’s chief concern is to appeal to the first distinction to argue against a certain tightly restrictive epistemology of understanding that he finds in the writings of William James. By contrast, when in 1911 he begins to place emphasis on the second distinction, his concern is to appeal to it in the course of defending his thesis that we are capable of having perfect knowledge (by acquaintance) of particulars. The defense is necessary because this thesis comes under attack from a certain argument Russell finds in the writings of the Monistic Idealists.
Memory and History and the Act of Remembering
Re-visiones, 2018
In this era of global neoliberal necro-capitalism, we are increasingly faced with a political and social amnesia that yields results without the past producing more and more processes of dehistorization and depoliticization. In these processes is fundamental the logic of repetition (neoliberal), which produces at least two different procedures of (de) historicization. On the one hand, we have the logic of the Western neoliberal world, which functions as a mere transhistorical machine; On the other hand, in the eastern and southern regions of Europe we detect forced techniques to accept historicization as totalization. In both cases, the result is a suspension of the history whose primary intention is to discard any alternative it contains. Gržinic's idea is to offer some examples and, even more, try to define these processes on a much broader scale, in order to see their political, social and cultural consequences.
Russell’s Bismarck: Acquaintance Theory and Historical Distance
Advances in Historical Studies, 2013
The role of acquaintance in Bertrand Russell's theory of descriptions is antithetical and, indeed, antagonistic toward the practice and assumptions of history. In his 1910 paper "Knowledge by Acquaintance and Knowledge by Description," Russell attempts to reconcile direct acquaintance (or its inability to determine the personal self of others) with a descriptive knowledge that is both logical and personal. Russell tries to reconcile the internal and external worlds, attempting to explain access to impersonal knowledge inside a framework that doesn't allow acquaintance with physical objects-he distorts the historical space between researcher and subject. In so doing, he argues for the superiority of acquaintance as an arbiter of knowledge, narrowly avoiding solipsism and wrongly devaluing the most basic of historiograhpical assumptions. His conception creates false historical goals and distorts the space of historical distance, illustrated in this paper through the American slavery studies of
Acta Scientiarum. Human and Social Sciences, 2007
This article explores the significance of memory, of processes of remembering and forgetting, and of various types and functions of memories in Fred D'Aguiar's novel Feeding the Ghosts (1997). The British-born Guyanese writer descends into the depths of historical memory to excavate individual voices, individual and collective memories, individual and cultural traumas that revolve around a "limit event" (LaCapra, 1999: 698) in history: slavery. By giving voice to his heroine Mintah, a Fetu slave girl, D'Aguiar creates a counter-memory to Britain's official memory, and most importantly, persuades us to build an ethical attachment to memories of the past. The first part of the paper deals with theoretical and methodological issues in memory studies, investigates the complex relation between memory and literature, specifically focussing on the role and function of acts of memory in postcolonial literatures. The second part, devoted to the analysis and interpretation of the novel, will yield fascinating insights into D'Aguiar's multilayered deployment of memory. Key words: memory boom, individual memory, counter-memory, trauma, the body, lieux de mémoire. RESUMO. 'O mar não tem memória': Memórias do corpo, do mar e da terra em Feeding the Ghosts (1997), de Fred D'Aguiar. Analisa-se o significado da memória e dos processos de lembrar e de esquecer, e de outros tipos e funções da memória no romance Feeding the Ghosts, de Fred D'Aguiar. O escritor guianense, nascido na Inglaterra, mergulha nas profundidades da memória histórica para recuperar vozes individuais, memórias individuais e coletivas, traumas individuais e coletivas que circundam um "evento limite" da história (LaCapra, 1999: 698), ou seja, a escravidão. Providenciando a voz à protagonista Mintah, uma escrava fetu, D'Aguiar estabelece uma contra-memória à memória oficial britânica e, mais importante ainda, nos incentiva a construir uma ligação ética às memórias do passado. A primeira seção desse ensaio gira em torno de problemas teóricos e metodológicos referentes aos estudos sobre a memória, investiga a relação complexa entre a memória e a literatura, focalizando a função e do papel dos atos de memória nas literaturas pós-coloniais. A segunda seção trata da análise e da interpretação do romance e produzirá discernimentos sobre o emprego multiestrutural da memória em D'Aguiar.
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