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3493 | Memory is mainly a guide for current performance [Searle] |
Full Idea: We should think of memory as a mechanism for generating current performance, including conscious thoughts and actions, on the basis of past experience. | |
From: John Searle (The Rediscovery of the Mind [1992], Ch. 8.III) | |
A reaction: This seems to be falling into the fallacy of causal and functional theories, which Searle normally dislikes. If memory serves to aid current performance, that doesn't say what memory IS, any more than a foot is defined by walking. |