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The Existential Function of Nostalgia
SAMMLER: I see you have these recollections.
WALLACE: Well, I need them. Everybody needs his memories. They keep the wolf of insignificance from the door.
--SAUL BELLOW, Mr. Sammler's Planet (1970, p. 190)
"We propose that nostalgia serves existential functions. Nostalgia is an existential exercise in search of identity and meaning, a weapon in internal confrontations with existential dilemmas, and a mechanism for reconnecting with important others. Nostalgia keeps 'the wolf of insignificance from the door.'"
This is from a chapter excerpt from the Handbook of Experimental Existential Psychology, Jeff Greenburg, Ed., Copyright (C) 2004
5 comments:
nostalgia is to existentialism, as backhanded satiricals are to Rod Serling characters
I didn't know you were a Twilight Zone fan.
obviously not as much as you, sir.
I thought there was a big red dog around here...where did that go?
Love the graphic. Where'd you find that, Gen?
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