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Witnessing, remembering and testifying: Why the past is special for human beings
Editors
Title / Series / Name
Perspectives on Psychological Science
Publication Volume
15
Publication Issue
2
Pages
Authors
Editors
Keywords
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14018/12721
Abstract
The past is undeniably special for human beings. To a large extent, both individuals and collectives define themselves through history. Moreover, humans seem to have a special way of cognitively representing the past: episodic memory. As opposed to other ways of representing knowledge, remembering the past in episodic memory brings with it the ability to become a witness. Episodic memory allows us to determine what of our knowledge about the past comes from our own experience and thereby what parts of the past we can give testimony about. In this article, we aim to give an account of the special status of the past by asking why humans have developed the ability to give testimony about it. We argue that the past is special for human beings because it is regularly, and often principally, the only thing that can determine present social realities like commitments, entitlements, and obligations. Since the social effects of the past often do not leave physical traces behind, remembering the past and the ability to bear testimony it brings, is necessary in order to coordinate social realities with other individuals.
Topic
Publisher
Place of Publication
Type
Journal article
Date
2020
Language
ISBN
Identifiers
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1745691619879167