Episodic memory without autonoetic consciousness.
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences November 4, 2024 Felipe De Brigard 12 citations
Since Tulving's 1985 article, autonoetic consciousness has been considered necessary for episodic memory. This paper challenges that claim, arguing that the construct of autonoetic consciousness lacks validity and, even if valid, would not be necessary for episodic memory. It proposes returning to a functional or computational characterization of episodic memory, where its characteristic phenomenology is a contingent feature of retrieval and open to empirical study. This approach aligns with memory taxonomies independent of conscious awareness and suggests ways to evaluate variability in conscious experience of episodic memories across humans and non-human agents.