Noțiunea de inscripționare în antropologia absenței (I)

Abstract

This article is the first part of an essay on the notion of marking, belonging to the anthropology of absence. We believe the essay to be the best formal approach to this topic and have therefore tried to support our view by examining various theories on the relevance of subjective knowledge in search of the fundaments of (human) truth. The present attempt proceeds by engaging in a dialogue of ideas with numerous other authors interested in themes such as loss, absence, marking, memory process, oblivion, death anticipation, therapeutic life stories. In so doing, we have tried to let other voices pronounce their expertise on the matter. We insisted on the deep analysis of absence versus loss, and on the scrutiny of the virtually infinite ways in which human mind is marked (hence, the notion of marking used in the title) by the perceived absence of anything that would have been of major importance to the victim of the loss. Making use of a very large quantity of quotations from recent and up to date works of writers, as well as historians, art scholars, scientists or literary critics who have pondered over some related aspects of absence as a main phenomenon in mankind’s representations, this article tries to identify the finest nuances, the only ones that may really matter within such a delicate topic. It is intended as an interrogation, as much as a hermeneutic reflection on the stupendous cultural signature of absence.