Memory, amnesia and the past UNSPECIFIED (1999) Memory, amnesia
and the past. MIND & LANGUAGE, 14 (2). pp. 227-251. ISSN
0268-1064Full text not available from this repository. This
paper defends the claim that, in order to have a concept of
time, subjects must have memories of particular events they once
witnessed. Some patients with severe amnesia arguably still have
a concept of time. Two possible explanations of their grasp of
this concept are discussed. They take as their respective
starting points abilities preserved in the patients in question:
(1) the ability to retain factual information over time despite
being unable to recall the past event or situation that
information stems from, and (2) the ability to remember at least
some past events or situations themselves (typically because
retrograde amnesia is not complete). It is argued that a
satisfactory explanation of what it is for subjects to have a
concept of time must make reference to their having episodic
memories such as those mentioned under (2