Learning from the Past: Epistemic Generativity and the Function of Episodic Memory
Accepted version
Peer-reviewed
Repository URI
Repository DOI
Change log
Authors
Boyle, AS
Abstract
I argue that the function of episodic memory is to store information about the past, against the currently orthodox view that it is to support imagining the future. I show that episodic memory is epistemically generative, allowing organisms to learn from past events retroactively. This confers adaptive benefits in three domains: reasoning about the world, skill and social interaction. Given the role played by evolutionary perspectives in comparative research, this argument necessitates a radical shift in the study of episodic memory in nonhumans.
Description
Keywords
Journal Title
Journal of Consciousness Studies
Conference Name
Journal ISSN
2051-2201
Volume Title
26
Publisher
Imprint Academic
Publisher DOI
Sponsorship
Trinity Hall, Cambridge