Remembering the past and constructing security in the present and future

Abstract

Forming constitutive, basic identity structures of individuals, as well as of entire societies, occurs through the continuity of experience. This continuity and, consequently, the stability of the foundation of identity formation are conditioned by memory. Both individual memory within the horizon of a lifetime and generational memory constitute preserved and transmitted records of “things past” and their interpretations. It is memory, by marking the horizon of the past and making it visible in the present and the future, that becomes an opportunity for contemplation of what is “gone” and for its constant re-evaluation. The ability to undertake deeper reflection, reaching further into history, also becomes a possibility for building a relatively safe reality, for achieving an increasingly profound understanding of oneself and the surrounding world, and for understanding the other person encountered within that world.  Severing the horizon of memory, together with the deeper understanding formed through it, may lead to transforming the horizon of encountering the other into a horizon of hostility, mutual prejudice, and aggression. Thus, pointing to the memory of the past, as an essential constitutive component of both individual and collective identity, constitutes an attempt to reverse the vector leading from the other to the alien and then to the hostile. Instead, it presents the other as an invitation to engage in dialogue and, consequently, to create a safer space for living.