The Enigma Of Memory

We are creatures that exclusively inhabit the present, yet our thoughts can often be directed towards the past or the future--although it is only the present that is directly and immediately experienced.  The past in particular can motivate us onward to change, adapt, grow, and achieve goals tied to our own personal longings and desires.  And how do we know our past?  Through the faculty called memory.  Memory is the recollection of past events stored in our minds, and it is of great cruciality to life and epistemology.  My cursory thoughts on the issue of memory are below and there is potential for more to eventually follow.

I have always drawn some degree of comfort from memories of earlier points in my life.  Nostalgia has been a major inspiration, motivation, and pleasure to me throughout my existence.  Similarly, some people's memories seem connected to their very identities, as if forgetting the past would make them forget themselves.  The question of the reliability of human memory is one that can strike at the core of our awareness of ourselves and everything else, yet it must be raised if we earnestly seek knowledge.  Whether stirred by hearing a companion recount a story about a shared experience that you remember differently, a scientist or philosopher speak about the limitations of human nature, or some other personal experience, the question will probably arise at some point in your life.  All of us, not just elderly men and women suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's, must consider this question.

Yet some who highlight the fallibility or malleability of memory might forget (sorry, I had to use this word here!) that the very fact that we can doubt our memories proves to us as individuals that memory exists as a part of our minds.  Whether my memories of my childhood are accurate or false, I know with absolute certainty that it is undeniable that I do indeed have these memories.  To deny to myself or someone else that I have a memory, whether reliable or not, is to deny something that it is impossible for me as a conscious and thinking being to not know.

Given this information about the limitations of memory, it is interesting how often the Bible exhorts people in narratives and modern readers alike to remember certain facts or events, for humans can be forgetful creatures.  What we think about strongly reveals what we treasure, and God accordingly reminded the ancient Jews in particular to never cease remembering his nature and his actions that reflected it.  What we actively try to remember can accurately indicate the priorities of our hearts and the motives of our minds.

Can we trust our memories?  How can we enhance or correct them?  How does the existence of memory establish our limitations with regard to knowledge of the future?  I hope to write about these issues more in the future upon more reflection and investigation.  Until then, ponder your memory and the things it focuses on, strives to purge, and causes you to long for, for such an exercise can reveal a great deal about yourself and your nature as both a human and as an individual.