| Avishai Margalit is a prominent Israeli political scientist and memory expert.In his seminal work The Ethics of Memory,Margalit distinguishes between two types of relationships-thick and thin-and argues that the function of memory is to bind people in thick relationships together,which made memory an ethical concept.Thick relationships are characterized by strong ethical norms and are typically found in close,intimate relationships,while thin relationships are governed by moral norms and are more general in nature.Drawing on Margalit’s concept of memory ethics,this article provides a comprehensive analysis of key terms such as moral witness,forgiveness,and forgetting,and examines their role in memory theory research.The article also explores the indicative role of memorization ethics in real life through literary texts by connecting memory ethics and witness literature.The article begins by discussing how memory ethics derives from collective memory and specificly investigated the definitions of ethics and morality to make a distinction with which defined by Margalit.It then examines thick and thin relationships,and identifies care as a core factor that moves thin relationships towards thick relationships.The article also discusses memory ethics in the context of the memory community and distinguishes between collective memory and shared memory.Two important keywords of Margalit’s memory ethics,“moral witnesses and forgiveness”,are investigated in detail,and the article examines why moral witnesses are considered moral rather than ethical witnesses through the interpretation of Margalit.The core viewpoint of memory ethics,"forgiveness and forgetting",is also explored,and the motives for forgiveness and its purpose are investigated.Finally,the article examines the responsibility and obligation of memory in literature,using classic literary works to analyze the role of memory ethics in literature.As witness literature is an essential carrier of memory,the article concludes with a detailed exploration of the authenticity and fictionality of witness literature and its moral significance.And find out that the ultimate goal of witness literature is to guard against the lowest threshold of human morality being broken,leading to the occurrence of disaster again.After clarifying this concept,the article further explores Margalit’s memory ethics in fictional and non-fictional works,including Albert Camus’ s The Plague,John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,Elie Wiesel’s Night,and Primo Levi’s The Drowned and The Saved.In its concluding remarks,the article reflects on the theory of memory ethics and the lessons it teaches us.It emphasizes the need to avoid the harm caused by totalitarianism and to construct a decent society consistent with moral ideals while promoting the power of human fate community.The article also reflects on the absolute distinction between ethics and morality in memory ethics and the over-idealization of forgiveness.Through critical thinking from both perspectives of reflection and inspiration,the article provides a comprehensive examination of memory ethics. |
