Der Körper als Palimpsest: Erinnerungstopographien zwischen Schrift und Leiblichkeit

Abstract

Metaphors for memory usually emphasize the act of inscribing something into our minds and bodies. They basically follow a logic of script and writing. Drawing on literary examples, the article focuses on the reverse operation: How do we read mind and body and thus de-scribe contents to make them conscious? It will be argued that – contrary to Descartes’ fundamental dissociation of res cogitans and res extensa – there is a substantial dimension of memory that can mildly transcend the Cartesian split and create meaning beyond the standard multi-chain logic of signs and interpretation. However, such forms of sensorially motivated total recall or mémoireinvoluntaireare inherently anti-hermeneutic and defy themselves all endeavours to analyze them – at least, while they last. It is only in retrospect that we can try to consciously understand them. The body reading itself disappears the very moment we become aware of it. As point zero of our worldly existence it remains a paradox.