Reification

Yesterday night I scrolled through Picasa and the last years of travel photography. Among all the pictures I found a few short videos in which the silent world of the past suddenly came alive. I could not help thinking about how we actually construct our memories, how we filter and reify. How we chose to remember scolding when there was also playfulness. Or, for that part, romance when there was so much insecurity.

Looking at the summer that is drawing to its close, it feels like a very long time has passed since that Düsseldorf lounge afternoon. Slow lane alright. Maybe a few more excursions (including one wonderful drive in June through the English countryside) than originally planned. But all interlaced by unfulfilled hope. And now it is almost September and the X2000 commuter routine is about to start.

As tradition has it, I am soon off to Manchester for the Workshops in Political Theory where I, for the first time in my academic career, will be chairing a workshop on my own. The paper line-up looks promising as always, with everything from climate change ethics to the role of voluntariness in biodiversity conservation.