A Wounded Memory: Renarrativization and the Problem of Personal Identity
Abstract
In this paper, I consider the role that individual and collective memory plays in constructing personal identity. I particularly focus on the problem of entangled memory (symbolic injuries which demand reconciliation). Analyzing the internal relation between recalling and forgetting, I argue that self-recognition (and self-interpretation) is possible only if the past events find their meaning in the narrative structure. I refer to Ricoeur’s research on memory and to the concept of narrative identity. By emphasizing the fact that temporal experience and the narrative operation are intertwined, I suggest that we need constant narrativization in striving for our inner integrity.
Keywords:
memory, personal identity, narrativization, Ricoeur, FreudWARMBIER, A. (2018). Pamięć zraniona. Renarratywizacja i problem tożsamości osobowej. Ethos. Kwartalnik Instytutu Jana Pawła II KUL, 31(4), 111–125. https://doi.org/10.12887/31-2018-4-124-08
