Have you ever forgotten where you parked your car? Imagine you finally found a parking spot in a parking garage and as you head to the elevator you take note of what floor you’re on, and what section the car is in. After a long day you return to the parking garage to get your car and head home, except there’s only one problem, you don’t remember where you parked your car, or even what floor. When you try your hardest to remember you pull a blank, even though you remember looking at the signs, taking note of the signs, and repeating it in your head, you can’t quite remember anything other than the sign was blue. This is an example of how weak the human memory is. Our memories are all actually distorted, either from it not being possible to recall every single detail, or from being recalled. Each time we recall a memory, we are just remembering the last time we remembered that memory. This means the mood we are in and the stimulus around us can affect how we recall our memory, and when we remember it next time it’ll have that lens on it. A neutral childhood memory, recalled when upset, or after a bad day, will be thought of negatively and when you remember it next, it’ll have that negative association with it, even though it was a neutral memory before it was recalled. This means all our memories are warped in one way or another, making them an illusion.
When it comes down to how precise the human memory is, Donna Bridge, a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern university, conducted an experiment. She had the subjects memorize the placement of objects on a grid. She had them recall the placements over a span of 3 days. Her results showed that on the third day, the placements were closer to the placements from the second day instead of the first. In addition no one was able to perfectly place the objects on the third day. This enforces the idea that every time we recall something we recall the last time we remembered it, instead of remembering the original, true experience.
David Hume, a philosopher who believes that the self is an illusion, or fictional, states, “memory not only discovers the identity, but also contributes to its production, by producing the relation of resemblance among the perceptions.” This is essentially saying that our memory is what constructs our identity and how we see ourselves, and it does this by stringing together memories, and the disillusions those memories turn into.
Thinking to myself, I realize that the way I see myself, comes from an assortment of memories that come to mind, that I can only assume have been clouded due to being recalled. So if our identity is constructed from our memories, which our false, we live a false reality, that is, almost fictional. Since the foundation of our selves is built on false memories and disillusions, it is safe to say we each live far from reality, unable to see the world around us unbiased, but instead in a fictional worldview.
Philosophy? 