On destructive memories and the role of language in living with one’s past

Abstract In the context of memory, the present paper investigates the consequences of undergoing a change concerning one’s ethical outlook. First, we motivate the idea that we can become alienated from our own memories by revisiting Bernard Williams’ idea of Relativism of distance . Given that one’s prior ethical outlook can become so distant from one’s present ethical outlook, is it possible that one can come to experience the memories one has from an earlier point of life as alienating? By looking at the experience of Christa Wolf, we argue that ethical incoherence in the context of memory can lead to what we term destructive memories . In the second part of the paper, we reflect on the constructive role language may have in living with destructive memories.