From Vessel to Agent: The Philosophy of Historical Memory of Place in the Twenty‑First Century

Abstract This article presents a systematic exposition of the transformation in the philosophy of historical memory of place in the twenty‑first century, focusing on the fundamental transition from "place as a passive repository of memory" to "place as an ontologically capturing agent." Centered on a novel conceptual apparatus—comprising finite continuity, structural subjectivity, negative heterotopia, and ontological capture—the paper situates these concepts within the philosophical trajectories of Edward Casey, Jeff Malpas, Dylan Trigg, Jane Bennett, and Karen Barad. Its central argument is that contemporary philosophy of place has arrived at a precise theoretical juncture: the transition from "place as a repository of memory" to "place as an ontologically capturing agent." However, to avoid reductionism and dogmatism, this article, in a further step, subjects the proposed conceptual apparatus to "critical assessment and theoretical boundaries." By acknowledging theoretical blind spots and distinguishing between "structural determination" and "structural constraint with residual indeterminacy," we demonstrate how historical memory transforms from an epistemological attribute of the subject into an ontological attribute of place, without dissolving the subject into pure determinism. Keywords: Historical memory, ontology of place, ontological capture, negative heterotopia, structural subjectivity, new materialism, epistemic humility