Memory Knowledge

Knowledge can be subdivided according to the sources from which it arises. Among the basic sources of knowledge and justification are perception, testimony, reason and inference. Whether memory is a basic source of knowledge is a controversial issue. Some philosophers maintain that memory only retains or preserves knowledge but doesn’t produce new knowledge. Others insist that there are cases where a person first comes to know by remembering. In what follows I will begin in section 1 by characterizing the standard taxonomy of memory. Following this, I will explain the distinction between direct and representative realism about memory (section 2). Section 3 concerns the question of whether memory implies knowledge. Section 4 examines whether memory is merely a preservative source of justification and knowledge or whether it can also function as a generative source. Finally, section 5 discusses responses to skepticism about memory knowledge.