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Memory and Causation

  • 02-05-2011 10:53pm
    #1
    FISMA
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,616 ✭✭✭


    We love cause and effect in our world/realm, don't we?

    However, have you ever asked yourself a fundamental question - how do I know my memory is working properly?

    It seems to me that there is no scientific test that can demonstrate your memory is working properly.

    Thoughts? (no pun intended)


Comments

  • #2
    MungBean
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,915 ✭✭✭MungBean


    FISMA wrote: »
    We love cause and effect in our world/realm, don't we?

    However, have you ever asked yourself a fundamental question - how do I know my memory is working properly?

    It seems to me that there is no scientific test that can demonstrate your memory is working properly.

    Thoughts? (no pun intended)


    What exactly do you mean by memory working properly ? Memory is the retention of information right ? Which can be tested pretty easily. Read a list of words and then recount it from memory.

    I'm probably missing the point of your question so if you could elaborate a bit I'd be grateful.


  • #3
    wylo
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,214 ✭✭✭wylo


    Exactly, we can test it. Like if I say to you my car is blue, we can leave the house and have a look at the car?
    As for old memories, we can get someone else to confirm the memory. Unless everyones memory is broken and is remembering the same 'wrong' thing.


  • #4
    Black Swan
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 47,528 CMod ✭✭✭✭Black Swan


    FISMA wrote: »
    It seems to me that there is no scientific test that can demonstrate your memory is working properly.
    There are numerous scholarly articles that pertain to the test of memory. Here are a couple quickly accessed from Google Scholar:
    • Henry L. Roediger III and Jeffrey D. Karpicke. The power of testing memory: Basic research and implications for educational practice. Perspectives on Psychological Science September 1, 2006 vol. 1 no. 3 181-210
    • Mary A. Pyc and Katherine A. Rawson. Why Testing Improves Memory: Mediator Effectiveness Hypothesis, Science 15 October 2010: Vol. 330 no. 6002 p. 335
    To ensure that we are discussing the same thing, we need a conceptual definition of memory. It would be best if it was a philosophical definition, given that this is the Philosophy forum. For example, you may wish to consult Plato's doctrine of reminiscence, or read Augustine's Confessions for his discussion regarding the problematic nature of the philosophy of memory.


  • #5
    Boroimhe
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 118 ✭✭Boroimhe


    Perhaps he is talking about the emotional response to our memories or the fact that a memory recalled later on could bring different feelings then when it first occured or something?


This discussion has been closed.
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