Memory occupies a fundamental place in philosophy, playing a central role not only in the history of philosophy but also in philosophy of mind, epistemology, and ethics. Yet the philosophy of memory has only recently emerged as an area of study and research in its own right.

The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Memory is an outstanding reference source on the key topics, problems, and debates in this exciting area, and is the first philosophical collection of its kind. The forty-eight chapters are written by an international team of contributors, and divided into nine parts:

• The nature of memory
• The metaphysics of memory
• Memory, mind, and meaning
• Memory and the self
• Memory and time
• The social dimension of memory
• The epistemology of memory
• Memory and morality
• History of philosophy of memory.

Within these sections, central topics and problems are examined, including: truth, consciousness, imagination, emotion, self-knowledge, narrative, personal identity, time, collective and social memory, internalism and externalism, and the ethics of memory. The final part examines figures in the history of philosophy, including Aristotle, Augustine, Freud, Bergson, Wittgenstein, and Heidegger, as well as perspectives on memory in Indian and Chinese philosophy.

Essential reading for students and researchers in philosophy, particularly philosophy of mind and psychology, the Handbook will also be of interest to those in related fields, such as psychology and anthropology.

About the Author
Sven Bernecker is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cologne, Germany and the University of California, Irvine, USA. He is the author of Reading Epistemology (2006), The Metaphysics of Memory (2008), and Memory: A Philosophical Study (2010) and is co-editor with Duncan Pritchard of The Routledge Companion to Epistemology (2011). Kourken Michaelian is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Otago, New Zealand. He is the author of Mental Time Travel: Episodic Memory and Our Knowledge of the Personal Past (2016) and is co-editor with Stanley B. Klein and Karl K. Szpunar of Seeing the Future: Theoretical Perspectives on Future-Oriented Mental Time Travel (2016).

Reviews

"This is a stunningly comprehensive collection on memory, by a well-balanced mix of established experts and sharp young thinkers. Anyone seeking a way into the bourgeoning field of the philosophy of memory should begin by reading this book. The editors have given a wonderfully accessible, stimulating, and well-organized gift not only to philosophers but also to a wide range of readers from cognate areas." - Rob Rupert, University of Colorado at Boulder, USA

"In its marvellous 48 chapters, this collection shows the centrality of memory to the philosophy of mind, as well as to epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics. Importantly, it is not only philosophers who have taken up foundational questions about the nature of memory and its relationship to narrative, social identity, and technological interventions, but psychologists, historians, and social scientists, and each will savour their own favourite parts of this volume." - Robert A. Wilson, La Trobe University, Australia

Book Information
ISBN 9780367370572
Author Sven Bernecker
Format Paperback
Page Count 612
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 997g