Memory enhancement. Who wants a memory without limits?

作者：Boldt Joachim^*; Bittner Uta

来源：Ethik in der Medizin, 2013, 25(4): 315-328.

DOI：10.1007/s00481-012-0215-7

• Memory
• Enhancement
• Remembering
• Forgetting
• Identity
• Self-understanding

Definition of the problem Not to be able to remember is a hindrance to almost every part of our daily life. Conversely, one may assume that being able to remember more than an average person must improve the ability to efficiently achieve one%26apos;s aims and to lead a satisfactory and successful life. Nonetheless, as is shown by the experience of people who have an increased capacity to remember by nature, this is true only to a limited extent. Therefore, how are we to understand the nature and ethical relevance of an increased memory%26apos;s drawbacks from a theoretical perspective? Arguments It is argued that philosophical concepts of the memory as information storage are ill-suited to explain and anticipate some of the obstacles experienced by those who possess a naturally increased capacity to remember. With reference to the approaches of Ricoeur and Nietzsche, it is shown that philosophical theories emphasizing the role of remembering in the process of developing a normatively informed self-understanding can embed and predict these experiences more smoothly. Conclusion As a consequence, since this ability is at the core of what it means to be a person, potential impediments to this ability possess universal ethical relevance. They ought to be taken account of in the evaluation of memory enhancement procedures.

• 出版日期2013-12