Memory and Monuments: A Philosophical Vision of Architectural and Natural Memorials

The article attempts to philosophically analyze a very important and always topical problem of the relationship between memory and monuments as guardians of the centers of human culture in its past and present. The phenomenon of memory is viewed through the prism of the modern recipient's perception of the "dialogical" relationship between "bygone times" and the current socio-cultural situation. Memory, quantitatively consisting of memories of specific things, events, images, etc., takes on the character of a holy substance, transforming various attributes into monuments. It is emphasized that the memorial functionality of a monument consists in the preservation and identification of the spiritual quintessence of some historical or individual-personal phenomenon, not really repeated, but able to be phenomenologically reproduced in consciousness as an intentional object. Containing a memorial meaning, the monument reflects the culture and history of a particular era. It becomes an object of a value relationship, serves as a mediator and bearer of continuity in the dynamic dialogue of cultural cycles. Referring to historical examples of the development of architectural and natural works, we outline the philosophical and phenomenological contours in the aesthetic interpretation of memorial objects.