The feminist ethics of remembering: An exploration into how our memories are shaped by our values and relationships
Date
2025
Authors
Musselwhite, Eliza Blue
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Publisher
University of Victoria
Abstract
Are our memories really ours alone? If they are not, what powers and responsibilities do we have, as rememberers, as storytellers, to shape the context surrounding collective and personal memories? In this project I defend a philosophical case for the relational character of memory. I will do this by drawing upon Susan Brison’s theory of the self as relational and expanding it to apply to memory. From there, I make a case for the significance of sharing memories, through speaking, writing, and forms such as memoir, as an ethical practice, grounded in care for both self and others. I argue for the ethical value of sharing true narratives amidst a culture that values silence, and denial, in the face of hard truths.
Description
Keywords
philosophy, feminism, memory, memoir, narrative, ethics