Memory and Testimony

We know things by believing what people tell us, but is remembering the same thing as believing the testimony of our past selves or is it somehow different? While both memory and testimony have been the subject of attention by epistemologists, work on these subjects has largely proceeded in parallel. As a result, relatively little attention has been paid to potential insights that might be transferred from one to another. Memory and Testimony: New Essays in Epistemology addresses this gap in epistemological research by featuring essays on the relationship between our memories and the words of others as sources of knowledge. These essays use three main methods: examining memory and testimony using broad epistemological principles, exploring the idea that testimony transmits knowledge from speaker to listener similarly to how memory transmits knowledge from one's past self to one's current self, and using insights from one area to inform the other. This volume brings together authors with different philosophical specialisms to generate new insights into an idea that has formed the starting point for the modern epistemology of testimony: are our memories the testimony of our past selves? Fields like social epistemology and the philosophy of mind are used to examine this concept-one that has helped to shape both the modern epistemology of testimony and contemporary discussions of memory. From an examination of Thomas Reid's treatment of memory and testimony to the significance of online Reddit discussions for collective memory, this volume is a comprehensive look at the relationship between two areas of continued philosophical interest.