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Remembering is an imaginative project

DOI: 10.1007/s11098-024-02220-9
Goldwasser, S. (2024). Remembering is an imaginative project. Philosophical Studies, 181(11), 2897–2933. doi:10.1007/s11098-024-02220-9

Abstract

This essay defends the claim that episodic remembering is a mental action by arguing that episodic remembering and sensory- or experience-like imagining are of a kind in a way relevant for agency. Episodic remembering is a type of imaginative project that involves the agential construction of imagistic-content and that aims at (veridically) representing particular events of the personal past. Neurally intact adults under normal conditions can token experiential memories of particular events from the personal past (merely) by intending or trying to. An agent’s ability to actively remember depends not only on her being able to determine that some memory event occurs but on her ability to construct the relevant scene at will as well. I claim that the ability to guide construction with respect to imagistic-content is distinctive feature of a subset of active imagining. Episodic remembering is of a kind with that subset of active imagining by being a process of agential construction of imagistic-content, in this case, scene construction that aims at (veridically) representing the personal past. Agential scene construction in the context of remembering is the agent’s exploring her personal past as a highly circumscribed region of modal space.

Authors

  • Seth Goldwasser1

What This Study Is About

Is remembering the past just like using your imagination? This paper argues that when we recall a specific event, we aren't just "watching a recording"—we are actually performing a creative "mental action" to rebuild that scene in our heads.

How They Studied It

This wasn't a lab experiment with heart monitors or brain scans; it is a philosophical essay. The researcher used logic and existing scientific data to build a new theory. He specifically looked at how we control our mental imagery—the ability to picture things in our mind—and compared the "rules" our brain follows when we imagine the future versus when we remember the past.

What They Found

The author argues that remembering is a "construction project."
  • Active Building: When you remember your last birthday, you are actively building that scene, much like an architect builds a 3D model.
  • Same Tools: We use the exact same mental tools to remember the past as we do to imagine a "counterfactual" (something that didn't happen, like imagining if you had eaten pizza instead of a burger for lunch).
  • The Difference: The only real difference is the "rules" (or constraints). When you imagine a purple cow, there are no rules. When you remember the past, your brain imposes a rule that the "model" must match what actually happened.

What This Might Mean

This suggests that memory and imagination are two sides of the same coin. If this is true, it means your "memory muscle" and your "imagination muscle" are actually the same thing!
However, this raises a fascinating question for people with aphantasia—the inability to see images in the mind’s eye. If remembering *requires* building a mental picture, how do people who can't see those pictures remember their lives? The author suggests that while imagery is the "standard" way to remember, we need more research to see if aphantasics use a different, non-visual way to "build" their memories.

One Interesting Detail

The author compares remembering to raising your arm. Just as you "intend" to move your arm and then control its path, you "intend" to remember and then actively guide your mind to reconstruct the details of the past. It’s an action you *do*, not just something that happens to you!
This summary was generated by AI and may contain errors. Always refer to the original paper for accuracy.