The concept of memory has always been a crucial topic in philosophical discourse. This book re-traces the thought of major philosophers such as Edmund Husserl, Paul Ricoeur, Hannah Arendt, Karl Jaspers, William James, José Luis Borges and Sigmund Freud to provide an in-depth exploration around several aspects of this timely issue. How is a memory formed? How can we bring into existence what has sunk into oblivion? What is the role of our instincts and inner drives in the constitution of memory? What is the connection between memory and forgetfulness, as well as that between mercy and remembrance? Focusing on these fundamental questions, the author presents a rich interconnection of concepts and ideas that build a significant work on the great theme of memory.

Pio Colonnello is Professor of Theoretical Philosophy at the University of Calabria, Italy. He is also Visiting Professor in a few American universities and Consulting Editor of The Journal of Value Inquiry. He directs the Journal Bollettino Filosofico. He has twice been awarded the Prize for Culture from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers in Italy. His recent works include: Orizzonti del trascendentale, Milan 2013; Il soggetto riflesso. Itinerari del corpo e della mente (ed.) Milan 2014; Fenomenologia e visioni del mondo (ed.) Milan 2015. Some of his books have been translated in Argentina, France, Mexico and the United States.