How Does Memory Affect Personal Identity?

Memory is a central part of what makes us who we are. Our past experiences have a vast effect on our present being. Therefore the memory of the past events have a momentous role in someone’s personal identity. Memory alone ties us with our past and present. This tie allows us to give people a sense of self. Many philosophical debates have happened regarding this idea. The debate about the self and identity and what constitutes it has been widely discussed by Locke. Locke believes that these kinds of memories make someone similar to what they were in the past if not better (Klein, 2012). Just as countries and cities have history, so does one’s self within itself. As history is recorded within and through literature, consider yourself as your

Objects like scrapbooks, photo albums or journals are the human self’s attempt to try and retain these memories in turn trying to preserve a forgotten or lost part of themselves. Identity can be defined as cultural identity which is the mass identity of a community or group or personal identity. The tales of a community and there history in turn give us a sense of their identity and what makes them who they are. The Greeks and Romans conserved these memories through the telling of myths and the passing of them through there generations. These myths and tales give us a sense of the identity and thoughts of these cultures. They give us a perception into what those times were like, and how the people interacted with one another. This collective memory conveys the self-portrait of an entire community through the evolution of time. The expression of cultural memory comes from a Greek term

Every personal memory requires communication to show a sense of personal identity therefore every collective memory also requires a sense of communication or display to show its identity (Czaplicka, 1995). It is widely debated whether these theoretical ideas are true or not many philosophers and historians have debated the idea of how vital our memory can be to our identity. Some argue that it is not the case and identity comes from intellect or our moral being and therefore has nothing to do with memory. However it cannot be disregarded that without or memories we would be in chaos. Without the recognition of the people around us, our families, our belongings and our own self we would not be able to function as we would with them. Therefore our identity is meticulously interwoven with our memories and this fact cannot be ignored. Whether it is a cultural activity or a personal one our identity is based on the things we choose to remember and even the things we choose to forget. Every small object adds to our self and conveys something about us that sometimes even we don’t