Collecting Experiences: The Very Idea

Abstract

This essay puts forth an argument against the notion that we collect things. It probes the notion of collecting experiences though it refrains from developing any theory of experience. It claims that nothing, no thing, is intrinsically collectible. Some attention is paid to the notion of intangible collecting and to the connection between collection and catalogue. The essay recommends that collections should be understood as we understand human actions, that is, bearing in mind the reasons, motives, and intentions of collectors, and concludes by defining collection as a practice following from the belief that certain voluntary acts can induce experiences in other people. It also suggests that this is all the theory about collections that we will ever need.