Event Timeslots (1)
Thursday
-
Memory and imagination are central capacities of the human mind. Memory links us to our autobiographical past, whereas imagination allows us to envision hypothetical and counterfactual scenarios. It also enables us to put ourselves in the shoes of other persons. In remembering and in imagination, we mentally construct scenarios, which are very much alike with respect to their representational contents and their phenomenal character. However, when it comes to the justification of factual beliefs, memory and imagination seem to play very different roles. Whereas memory informs us about events that actually happened to us in our past, imagination does not indicate factual truths. It, at most, helps us to engage with merely possible scenarios.
In the seminar, we will shed light on the commonalities and differences between memory and imagination. The guiding questions are: What is it like when we are remembering or imagining something? Is memory a form of preservation that stores representations of what we once experienced (Martin & Deutscher, 1966) ? Do memory and imagination result from a shared causal mechanism of episodic simulation (Addis, 2018; Michaelian, 2016) . Are they still distinct kinds of psychological phenomena (Werning, 2020) ? Does the inability to form mental images, as we observe it in aphantasia, correlate with an impairment of episodic memory? In what respects do memory and imagination provide justifications for beliefs. What about deficient phenomena such as confabulation and déjà-vu?
The seminar will provide an overview of the current research literature on memory and imagination, in philosophy, psychology and neuroscience. Students will have the opportunity to link up with our DFG research group "Constructing Scenarios of the Past: A New Framework of Episodic Memory". Aside from active participation, participants will be expected to give a presentation in English. Assistance regarding the English language will be provided. Teaching will be assisted by Sofia Pedrini and Juan Àlvarez. The seminar will take place on a bi-weekly basis.