Current Controversies in Philosophy of Memory

The surge of philosophical interest in episodic memory has brought to light a number of controversial questions about this form of memory that have only recently begun to be addressed in detail. This book organises discussion around six such questions, offering two new chapters per question, from experts in the field. The questions are: I. What is the relationship between memory and imagination? II. Do memory traces have content? III. What is the nature of mnemonic confabulation? IV. What is the function of episodic memory? V. Do non-human animals have episodic memory? VI. Does episodic memory give us knowledge of the past? The book constitutes a valuable resource for researchers, teachers, and students alike. For researchers, it provides an up-to-date discussion of some of the main theories, arguments, and problems in the area. For teachers, the book can supply the readings for an entire course, or particular sections can provide the readings for specific units within a broader philosophy of memory course. For students, the book offers accessible discussions of some of the most recent topics in the philosophy of memory, which, when taken together, serve as a well-rounded introduction to the area.

André Sant'Anna is a McDonnell Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Philosophy and the Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology Program at Washington University in St. Louis. Christopher Jude McCarroll is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the Institute of Philosophy of Mind and Cognition, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. Kourken Michaelian is Professor of Philosophy at the Université Grenoble Alpes, where he directs the Centre for Philosophy of Memory, and is a senior member of the Institut Universitaire de France.

Editors' introduction Part I: What is the relationship between memory and imagination? 1. Remembering, imagining, and memory traces: Toward a continuist causal theory 2. The relation between memory and imagination: A debate about the right concepts Part II: Do memory traces have content? 3. Remembering without a trace? Moving beyond trace minimalism 4. Distributed traces and the causal theory of constructive memory Part III: What is the nature of mnemonic confabulation? 5. An explanationist model of (false) memory 6. Towards a virtue-theoretic account of confabulation Part IV: What is the function of episodic memory? 7. Episodic memory: And what is it for? 8. Episodic memory is not for the future Part V: Do non-human animals have episodic memory? 9. Episodic memory in animals: Optimism, kind scepticism and pluralism 10. What does it take to remember episodically? Part VI: Does episodic memory give us knowledge of the past? 11. The epistemology of episodic memory 12. You don't know what happened