Ethics of memory: Forgetfulness and forgiveness in the traumatic place

Human beings tend to forget, especially when they suffer; they hope to overcome the pain of trauma to live a peaceful and happy life. The futurist attitude that can be articulated as ‘Move towards the future and let bygones be bygones’ may be related to injustice and social crisis. The aim of this paper is to explore the ethics of memory and forgetting regarding the place. This paper addresses three observations about memory and forgetting in current Taiwan and unearths the hidden connection with an ‘unsolved’ traumatic event in history. As the author examines, the unsolvedness is profoundly impacting people’s liability to forget and thereby causes the societal crisis, and the ‘Ghost Island’ is tabbed. Based on the above, the author claims the significance of the education of just memory and the implying ethics of memory–which is the very key to bring the wounded to peace, restoration, and forgiveness and to expel and pacify the spectre of the island.