Matter and Memory

Matter and Memory (French Matière et Mémoire ) is a work of the French philosopher Henri Bergson. It deals with the various functions and forms of memory and is on this basis also an answer to the mind-body problem. The on Bergson's conception of time (1889 ) builds treatise appeared in 1896 and is one of the four major works of the philosopher.

• 2.1 expenditure
• 2.2 secondary literature

Content

Overview

As the subtitle of the book ( Essai sur la relation du corps à l' esprit, dt: A Treatise on the relationship between body and mind ) announces Bergson opens up the mind-body problem through an analysis of the workings of memory. Bergson has this Scripture Memory and its disorders ( 1881) of Théodule Ribot in view. Ribot claimed that the findings of Neurology demonstrate that memory in the nervous system of the person is situated and is therefore procure material. Bergson contradicts this reduction of the memory on the matter and believes the memory is fundamentally spiritual in nature. The brain directs its contents to the present to him the given area and adds the necessary orientation to the contents of memory in the ongoing process constantly in the human actions a. So first it 's practical function, which focuses on the body is.

Now comes the brain damage is not primarily wiped out the memory, but in practical situations, the memory is lost, so the ability to retrieve the contents of memory ( to " incarnate " as Bergson says ). You continue to persist, but are incapable. Therefore, the brain its practical task no longer fully meet.

Forms of memory

Bergson distinguishes between two forms of memory: the habit memory repeats the past, without realizing it in the past. It makes use of previously appropriated skills to solve the current tasks, and works mostly automatically. Its operation is the body so enrolled that it does not have to be accessed consciously. This can be seen by Bergson at about memorized verses, which can be mechanically recites it were, without being specially 'd have to think about it. This memory of the knowledge - as Bergson called habit memory.

The other memory is the pure memory or recollection memory. It retains the experience into shape-memory images, which represent the experience. In the memory of the experience but is recognized as past and at the same time. It is used for contemplation and theory formation and it is completely free. It is completely spiritual and therefore embodies the actual memory. With respect to the above example, the memory can memory the fact that something has been learned by heart, remember. It can classify this as a past event and understands that it is not congenital in the learned content.

Metaphysical consequences

Bergson criticizes the metaphysicians to have only minor issues and this also made ​​wrong. Although the traditional problems of metaphysics are for the philosopher continues to be of interest, but would like Bergson 's approach to these problems from the ground rethink scratch. Each of its four major treatises responds specifically to a central metaphysical problem. In " Matter and Memory ", this is the relation of mind and body, a problem which Descartes in the distinction between res cogitans ( thinking mind) and res extensa (extended substance ) summarizes. This distinction is not sufficiently for Bergson.

The philosopher distinguishes mind and body at the level of reality, but does distinguish not as Descartes spatially but temporally. The mind is the place of the past, the body is the site of the present. The mind is therefore always anchored in the past and does not project into the present in it: It processes the Present solely from the standpoint of the past. Have awareness of something is, this illuminating having regard to the past. Who is limited to an external stimulus, which has no consciousness of what he is doing. He is alone in the physical, that is, in the present. Where something is to reach consciousness, must therefore be a certain period between the capture of the stimulus and the response thereto. In this meantime, the realization happens. It takes place out of the past, which illuminates the present and considering a future out. So turns out that the three tenses past, present and future take place through the unity of mind and body. The more the mind is urged in the past, the more conscious we are. The more one goes up in the things while doing, the more one is in the present, ie, in the physical time. Although it is possible to be even more in the one, sometimes more in the other time, one is but never exclusively in one or the other. True attention requires, however, that one acts with full mental and full physical effort. According to Bergson, is based on the " impulsive personalities " can be seen as consciousness can withdraw behind the immediate absorption into the things and actions. This raises the question turns on the causality of action, so the question of freedom and determinism of human actions, in a matter of practice: The man counters this problem by his creative development.