Work

Learning from the Past: Epistemic Generativity and the Function of Episodic Memory

Year: 2019

Type: article

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.

Source: London School of Economics and Political Science Research Online (London School of Economics and Political Science)

DOI: 10.17863/cam.35867

Author: Boyle, AS

Language: English

Topic: Memory Processes and Influences

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W2911753372

FWCI: 0.525

Cites: 19

Cited by: 21

Related to: 10