Volume 55, Issue 1, Spring 2025
Elisa Magr¨¬

Pages 63-94
https://doi.org/10.5840/idstudies2025416175
Hegel¡¯s Philosophy of Memory in Its Psychological Dimension
Hegel¡¯s psychology provides an account of cognition that is held together by the twofold activity of memory, involving Erinnerung (recollection) and Ged?chtnis (memory proper). While Hegel¡¯s account of cognition is often investigated in relation to conceptual and logical thinking, in this contribution I explore more closely the contribution of memory to the generation of semantic content. I argue that this view of memory sustains critical awareness about representations of facts and events, serving as the foundation for practical philosophy and ethics. To do justice to Hegel¡¯s approach and understand its modus operandi, I reconstruct the dynamics of cognition through the model of sedimentation. This is the theoretical process that generates knowledge by retaining and understanding the content of experience. I proceed by positioning Hegel¡¯s psychology and the role of the mind in its systematic context. Then, I introduce the model of sedimentation, and how this is connected to Hegel¡¯s use of Erinnerung and Ged?chtnis. Next, I distinguish between the sedimentation of images and that of signs, explaining the genesis of thought out of memory. Finally, I offer some reflections on the moral relevance of memory in the context of Hegel¡¯s psychology.