Cherish the memory, counter oblivion. The excess of evil and the problematic nature of forgiveness

Authors

  • Giuseppe Lissa Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II"

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6093/1593-7178/4057

Keywords:

memory, forgetfulness, Shoah, Europe, responsibilities

Abstract

This philosophical essay considers the themes of memory and oblivion from a concrete situation: the experience of World War II and Nazism. On the one hand, we need to remember those events, in particular the Shoah, and that means preserve its memory; on the other, it is necessary to counteract the oblivion of those moments. Of course, preserve the memory and fight oblivion are two sides of the same coin. The author traces a path that starts from a personal memory, a visit to Auschwitz, through and interrogating the history of philosophy around the theme of memory, from Plato to Ricoeur, until the most current theoretical considerations, such as the reflection on the European Union. It must be remembered that EU is born from the ashes of Auschwitz, in an attempt to make it impossible that an event like this could happen again. Forget the origin of European Union and desire its end, it means running the risk that Auschwitz could happen again.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

Published

2016-11-28

How to Cite

Lissa, G. (2016). Cherish the memory, counter oblivion. The excess of evil and the problematic nature of forgiveness. Bollettino Filosofico, 31, 341–370. https://doi.org/10.6093/1593-7178/4057

Issue

Vol. 31 (2016): The piety of thought. Memory, testimony, forgetfulness

Section

Forum

License

The author retains the copyright of his work whilst granting anyone the possibility “to reproduce, distribute, publicly communicate, publicly exhibit, display, perform and recite the work”, provided that the author and the title of the journal are cited correctly. When submitting the text for publication the author is furthermore required to declare that the contents and the structure of the work are original and that it does not by any means compromise the rights of third parties nor the obligations connected to the safeguard of the moral and economic rights of other authors or other right holders, both for texts, images, photographs, tables, as well as for other parts which compose the contribution. The author furthermore declares that he/she is conscious of the  sanctions prescribed by the penal code and by the Italian Criminal and Special Laws for false documents and the use false documents, and that therefore Bollettino Filosofico is not liable to responsibilities of any nature, civil, administrative or penal, and that the author agrees to indemnify and hold Bollettino Filosofico harmless from all requests and claims by third parties.