Memory:A Philosophical Study

A Philosophical Study

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Metaphysics, Health & Well Being, Psychology
Cover of the book Memory:A Philosophical Study by Sven Bernecker, OUP Oxford
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sven Bernecker ISBN: 9780191610370
Publisher: OUP Oxford Publication: May 1, 2010
Imprint: OUP Oxford Language: English
Author: Sven Bernecker
ISBN: 9780191610370
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication: May 1, 2010
Imprint: OUP Oxford
Language: English

In this book, Sven Bernecker investigates the defining characteristics of memory and the issues essential to understanding it. The book gives a comprehensive philosophical account of memory and illuminates issues central to contemporary discussions of metaphysics and epistemology such as personal identity, causation, mental content, and justification.Bernecker argues that remembering something, unlike knowing something, does not require having a belief. There are also instances where one has a memory but no justification for what one remembers. These surprising results suggest that remembering something requires standing in an appropriate causal relation to the relevant past representation. The book shows that a distinction needs to be made between the causal dependence of a memory on a past representation and the causal dependence of amemory on that which retains the past representation. This distinction turns out to be crucial for discerning cases of remembering from instances where some content is learned anew rather than recalled. The book proposes a theory of memory contents whereby they are determined by relations the subjectbears to his past physical or social environment rather than by states internal to the subject. This theory is shown to be compatible with the compelling psychological criterion of personal identity. Against the background of the theory of memory contents, Bernecker maintains that a memory content need not be the same as, but only similar to, the content of the representation from which it causally derives. This view has interesting results for the debate over false memories and the theory ofself-knowledge.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In this book, Sven Bernecker investigates the defining characteristics of memory and the issues essential to understanding it. The book gives a comprehensive philosophical account of memory and illuminates issues central to contemporary discussions of metaphysics and epistemology such as personal identity, causation, mental content, and justification.Bernecker argues that remembering something, unlike knowing something, does not require having a belief. There are also instances where one has a memory but no justification for what one remembers. These surprising results suggest that remembering something requires standing in an appropriate causal relation to the relevant past representation. The book shows that a distinction needs to be made between the causal dependence of a memory on a past representation and the causal dependence of amemory on that which retains the past representation. This distinction turns out to be crucial for discerning cases of remembering from instances where some content is learned anew rather than recalled. The book proposes a theory of memory contents whereby they are determined by relations the subjectbears to his past physical or social environment rather than by states internal to the subject. This theory is shown to be compatible with the compelling psychological criterion of personal identity. Against the background of the theory of memory contents, Bernecker maintains that a memory content need not be the same as, but only similar to, the content of the representation from which it causally derives. This view has interesting results for the debate over false memories and the theory ofself-knowledge.

More books from OUP Oxford

Cover of the book China, Russia, and Twenty-First Century Global Geopolitics by Sven Bernecker
Cover of the book The Return of Alsace to France, 1918-1939 by Sven Bernecker
Cover of the book Islam: A Very Short Introduction by Sven Bernecker
Cover of the book Goethe: A Very Short Introduction by Sven Bernecker
Cover of the book The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics by Sven Bernecker
Cover of the book Classics: A Very Short Introduction by Sven Bernecker
Cover of the book Transnational Securities Law by Sven Bernecker
Cover of the book A Dictionary of British History by Sven Bernecker
Cover of the book An Organizational Approach to Public Governance by Sven Bernecker
Cover of the book The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire by Sven Bernecker
Cover of the book Paris Tales by Sven Bernecker
Cover of the book Homer and the Poetics of Hades by Sven Bernecker
Cover of the book Scribal Repertoires in Egypt from the New Kingdom to the Early Islamic Period by Sven Bernecker
Cover of the book Church Life by Sven Bernecker
Cover of the book Beyond the Hoax by Sven Bernecker
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy