Every human exists in the world in his own particular way. Each thought he makes, each word he says, each act of his, the very sense of one’s self and his connection with other people define this peculiarity. All what defines man is partly due to memory, to his ability to record and save the experiences of life. In the present research, some of the mechanisms developed by man in order to achieve this memory storages as well as the crucial role of oblivion, in the sense of non-storage-deletion, in the formation of the constantly mutating human memory, are being considered. In the context of referring to those mechanisms that are developing through the years, a reference is made on the way this development affects memory itself as well as human perception. The context consists of three units concerning facts of storing or deleting memory as an either conscious or unconscious option of a person.
The first unit focuses on the involuntary savings of memory, during which, a man records his experiences in his brain in an unconscious way, through his senses, using nerve-cells as memory-storage devices. At the same time, as a reference to Marcel Proust and the example of madeleine, there is a mention to objects of everyday life that are charged with memories. Regarding this reference, a study of personal objects and the story they tell, is made.
The second unit concerns the cases of intentional saving, starting with the Art of Memory that uses mind palaces in order to recall specific memories, to the first chronicles and the formation of the first libraries, where, therefore, all existing information and historical memory is collected. Mnemonic Atlases, such as Warburg’s, which consist of a collection of pictures that compose a historical archive and remind us of the logic of a photo album, are also a reference. The unit ends with the digital world of “cloud”, where a huge number of information and archive material is being collected.
Oblivion (lethe), is considered to be an integral part of the memorial fact, but is also examined in the sense of mistaken memory, that reveals the relation between memory and fantasy, and even in the sense of lethe as a result of reminding which weakens thought; finally as the power of forgetting that can reprobate but also revolt.
