L'« erinnerung », ou le pouvoir du ressouvenir face à la déchirure du monde

Abstract

In his work Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), Hegel develops the concept of Erinnerung, which we can translate as recollection. Based on a textual analysis of passages from Phenomenology and Encyclopaedia devoted to memory, and comparing them with several contemporary readings (Bouton, Souche-Dagues, Mabille), we examine the conceptual function of Erinnerung and its anthropological significance. The clarification of this concept marks a fundamental milestone in Hegel's thinking on memory. The Phenomenology of Spirit, as an odyssey of consciousness, presents itself as the story of the spirit's journey and its gradual confrontation with the world. Throughout this journey, which will lead it to « absolute knowledge », the spirit remembers the obstacles it has overcome and keeps history in mind. This memory of history is the guarantor of our spiritual dignity. In the face of the barbarism of the world, the « duty to remember » is not the only weapon. Indeed, a Dionysian « spiritual vigour » is the only force worthy of confronting the emptiness of the world. Hegel leads us to rise to this dignity by reinforcing the Dionysian character of the spirit. We arrive at the following conclusion: in the face of nihilism and disenchantment, remembering the Dionysian essence of the world is the Hegelian – and later Nietzschean – path to re-enchantment.