Abstract

The approach of Benjaminian criticism to the concept of history is linked to a question about the role of the subject and the possibilities for the transformation of the present. In Benjamin’s work, subjectivity is, sometimes, connected to the collective unconscious ; on other occasions, to the Marxist awareness ; finally, to the idea of remembrance. Studying the early theory of knowledge in Benjamin’s work, we will seek to illuminate the emergence of the concept of “remembrance” in late works. We will argue that this notion contains the problem of subjectivity in the new theoretical context.