36 - Chapter 36: Life as a Story

Chapter 36: Life as a Story

 ·         rememb. self composes stories, stores them  — e.g. La Traviata, final moments of lovers more impt than whole story of life, key moments, not care abt duration

• ·         we think abt people’s lives as stories, incl. our own
• ·         experiments: fictional life stories, subj’ts asked to evaluate the lives — duration does not count, peaks and ends are everything

Amnesiac Vacations

• ·         vacations often planned primarily to create memories
• ·         “I will never forget” = highly significant
• ·         people choose by memory when they decide whether to repeat an experience
• ·         amnesiac vacations, i.e. what if, at the end, all memories were destroyed? — changes the value of the experience — some say wd not bother going, some wd not go on tough vacations such as climbing mts
• ·         I am my rememb. self, and the exper. self, who does my living, is like a stranger to me

Speaking of Life as a Story

• ·         “He is desperately trying to protect the narrative of a life of integrity, which is endangered by the latest episode.”
• ·         “The length to which he was willing to go for a one-night encounter is a sign of total duration neglect.”
• ·         “You seem to be devoting your entire vacation to the construction of memories. Perhaps you should put away the camera and enjoy the moment, even if it is not very memorable?”
• ·         “She is an Alzheimer’s patient. She no longer maintains a narrative of her life, but her experiencing self is still sensitive to beauty and gentleness.”