Causation in memory: necessity, reliability and probability

In this paper, I argue that causal theories of memory are typically committed to two independent, non-mutually entailing theses. The first thesis pertains to the necessity of appropriate causation in memory, specifying a condition token memories need to satisfy. The second pertains to the explanatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta scientiarum. Human and social sciences 2022-03, Vol.43 (3), p.e61493
Main Author: Andonovski, Nikola
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Causality
Dissertations & theses
Memory
Probability
Reliability
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In this paper, I argue that causal theories of memory are typically committed to two independent, non-mutually entailing theses. The first thesis pertains to the necessity of appropriate causation in memory, specifying a condition token memories need to satisfy. The second pertains to the explanation of memory reliability in causal terms, and it concerns memory as a type of mental state. Post-causal theories of memory can reject only the first (weak post-causalism) or both (strong post-causalism) theses. Upon this backdrop, I examine Werning’s (2020) causalist argument from probabilistic correlation. I argue that it doesn’t establish the necessity of appropriate causation, and thus it can only target strong post-causalist theories. I end up by presenting some general considerations, suggesting that memories may not always be causally linked to past experiences.
ISSN:1679-7361
1807-8656
DOI:10.4025/actascihumansoc.v43i3.61493