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Learning as a part of memory| old_uid | 19572 |
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| title | Learning as a part of memory |
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| start_date | 2021/11/11 |
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| schedule | 16h15-17h45 CEST (UTS +2:00) |
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| online | no |
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| details | En ligne |
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| summary | Encoding is a forgotten topic in the philosophy of memory. While storage and retrieval have been heavily discussed, this has not been the case with encoding. Part of the reason why philosophers ignore encoding is the identification of encoding processes with perceptual processes. Memories are often characterized as mental representations whose contents are causally derived from perception. Moreover, it is widely assumed that learning something entirely new depends on perception. These presuppositions have led philosophers to mainly focus on perception in order to understand the relation between remembering and past events. In this talk, I argue that perceiving an event is not necessary for encoding that event and, consequently, learning something new can be dissociated from perception. Drawing on recent findings from optogenetic experiments, I show how a novel association is encoded independently of previous sensory experience. These studies have found that new information can be implanted directly in the nervous system and need not be causally derived from perceiving a sensory event. Such findings suggest that learning something new could be accomplished just by imitating how associative memories are encoded. Surprisingly, I argue, optogenetic studies of memory implantation indicate that learning about novel events occurs entirely intracranially. I consider the implications of these findings for causal and simulationist theories of memory. |
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| responsibles | Peeters, Kourken, Andonovski |
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