Mind

What happens to a memory when I forget it, or realize I've forgotten it?

Comments

There is a wealth of psychological theorizing that can help to clarify the many ways in which memory works, or fails to work. Philosophers can sometimes help to clarify the possibilities, though. On the assumption that a memory involves the retrieval of information about an event that has occurred in one's past, there are at least three different possibilities:

1. The information trace has been eliminated. This would be the case if the part of one's brain that stored the information has deteriorated to the point where it no longer contains the relevant information.

2. Your access to the information (or a certain type of access to the information) has been lost or lessened. The information is still stored, but the processes that enable that information to be recalled, or reactivated, have ceased to operate.

3. The information continues to play an active role in your thoughts and feelings, but you are no longer aware of its role.

Read another response by Jennifer Church

Read another response about Mind