Sue Campbell
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- August 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199376933
- eISBN:
- 9780199376964
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199376933.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter argues that some contemporary reconstructive models of memory have retained a standard for “good” memory (as fidelity to an original impression) that derives from an outmoded archival ...
More
This chapter argues that some contemporary reconstructive models of memory have retained a standard for “good” memory (as fidelity to an original impression) that derives from an outmoded archival model. From the perspective of the reconstructive view, which acknowledges that the needs and interests of selves and others influence memory, our recollections appear as distortions of the past. This chapter argues that when we dismiss the dubious norm of good remembering as reproductive fidelity, the reconstructivist theory no longer encourages skepticism. Campbell’s positive proposal for good remembering combines a need to get both the facts about the past and their significance for the present and future right. The phenomenon of nostalgia is used to illustrate one sort of failure to get the significance of past facts right.Less
This chapter argues that some contemporary reconstructive models of memory have retained a standard for “good” memory (as fidelity to an original impression) that derives from an outmoded archival model. From the perspective of the reconstructive view, which acknowledges that the needs and interests of selves and others influence memory, our recollections appear as distortions of the past. This chapter argues that when we dismiss the dubious norm of good remembering as reproductive fidelity, the reconstructivist theory no longer encourages skepticism. Campbell’s positive proposal for good remembering combines a need to get both the facts about the past and their significance for the present and future right. The phenomenon of nostalgia is used to illustrate one sort of failure to get the significance of past facts right.
