When Shouldn't We Forget

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    When shouldnt we forget?

    Ying-Tung Lin

    The extended mind debate and its implications forthe neuroethics of memory modification

    Neurointerventions & the LawMarch 7, 2013

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    2Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

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    3Total Recall

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    TMS, tDCS, propanolol

    transcranial magnetic stimulation

    transcranial direct current stimulation

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    Transcranial magnetic stimulation

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    Do we always have the right to freelyremember or forget? Is there a duty toremember?

    When do we have the duty and whendont we? What is the basis of thisobligation?

    No & Yesa perspective from

    the extended mind thesis

    A model with two necessary

    conditions for the obligation

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    In this talk

    Do we have a duty to remember?Some relevant examples

    Why is there a duty? Doesnt one have the right to

    self-determine her own mind?The extended mind thesis, distributed memory and theblurred boundary of ones mind

    To how far is my mind extended? Wheres the end?

    Multidimensional frameworks for distributed cognition When does the obligation emerge?

    A model with two necessary conditions is proposed

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    Duty to remember problem(Liao and Sandberg, 2008, p. 94-95)

    There are some memories that are soimportant that there may be a duty toremember them.

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    8Neil Armstrong on the Moon

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    9March Slaughter in Taiwan, 1947

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    10Witness to a crime

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    Why is there a duty to remember?

    Doesnt one have the right to

    self-determine her own mind?

    Arent we always free to choose toremember or to forget if we can control it?

    The concept of ones own mindis not always clear!

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    The extended mind (EM) thesis(Menary, 2010)

    Where does the mind stop and the rest ofthe world begin?

    (Clark & Chalmers, 1998, p. 7)

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    The extended mind (EM) thesis

    Active externalism:The human organism is linked with an external entity in atwo-way interaction, creating a coupled system that canbe seen as a cognitive system in its own right. All the

    components in the system play an active causal role, andthey jointly govern behaviour in the same sort of way thatcognition usually does.

    Where does the mind stop and the rest ofthe world begin?

    (Clark & Chalmers, 1998, p. 8, italic in original)

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    Otto and his notebook

    (Clark & Chalmers, 1998, pp. 12-13) 15

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    The extended mind (EM) thesis

    The parity principle:

    If, as we confront some task, a part of the world functions as a

    process which were it done in the head, we would have no

    hesitation in recognizing as part of the cognitive process, then

    that part of the world is (so we claim) part of the cognitiveprocess.

    From extended cognition to extended mind

    [B]eliefs can be constituted partly by features of theenvironment, when those features play the right sort of role in

    driving cognitive processes. If so the mind extends into the

    world.

    (Clark & Chalmers, 1998, p. 8, italic in original)

    (Clark & Chalmers, 1998, p. 12, italic in original)

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    The extended mind (EM) thesis

    The complementarity principle

    [I]n extended cognitive systems, external states and processes

    need not mimic or replicate the formats, dynamics, or functions

    of inner states and processes. Rather, different components of

    the overall (enduring or temporary) system can play quitedifferent roles and have different properties while coupling in

    collective and complementary contributions to flexible thinking

    and acting.

    [I]nternal representations are incomplete contributions in a

    context-sensitive system rather than fixed determinants of output.

    (Sutton, 2010, p. 194)

    (Sutton, 2006, p. 282)

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    Distributed memory

    Remembering can extend beyond skull and skin

    Situated and distributed memory:

    Encoding can be shared or unshared, and where it is

    shared, this can be due to mere accident (as when a

    number of bystanders happen to witness the same

    incident on a street corner) or to a history of joint action.

    Retrieval can occur in isolation (in various ways and for

    various purposes), or under a range of increasingly

    collaborative conditions with other people, in groups ofvarying size, function, and durability.(Sutton, 2010, p. 545).

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    Distributed memory

    Engrams and exograms(Biological and external memory)They can have different properties and play different roles but

    have complementary contributions in a memory process.

    Exograms:

    Material resources (e.g., calendars, smart phones,

    shopping lists)

    Social resources (e.g., secretaries, friends and families,cultural traditions, rituals, customs)

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    Shared remembering in

    established, intimate,long-term marriedcouples

    A range of different

    entrenched strategieswere employed for collaborative recall (e.g., cueing,corrections, repetition and acknowledgments).

    [T]he information was in some sense already there,potentially availablethe couple did not have toconsult external memory aids or mementosbut itwas not accessible until they engaged in thisprocess of collaborative facilitation.

    (Harris, et al., 2011)

    (Sutton, 2010, p. 522)

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    M: No, I asked her out that

    night, but she said she couldnt

    go.F: No, thats right.

    M: So then I started to pester

    her the next week.

    F: You did, you turned up after

    my [classes].M: [Cooking classes.]

    F: On Monday night.

    M: Thatd be it.

    F: And took me for coffee.

    M: Yes, the next Monday night.F: And impressed me.

    M: Yes.

    M: Ah, I used to turn up down her,

    she used to give, umm, what do

    you call it, teaching, she used toteach, umm, women in Manly how

    to cook. So she ran teaching

    classes. So I used to turn up there

    after, and take her out for coffee or

    something.

    (Harris, et al., 2011, p. 291)

    F: And then the next week he

    appeared at my work after the

    evening class had finished, taking

    me out for coffeethat was thebeginning of the courtship.

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    If memory is distributed across individuals, onesmind can become a part of the social resources

    of other individuals, and her remembering can

    contribute to others remembering.If such is the case, in which circumstances do we

    have a duty to remember and a right to forget?

    If the proponents of the extended mind

    thesis are right, there is no concreteboundary of a mind. Therefore, the

    concept of ones own mind is blurred.

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    Two necessary conditions forones obligation to remember

    Condition 1. Significant engagement

    Condition 2. Involvement ofmoral significance

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    Condition 1. Significant engagement

    If one has the obligation to remember X, oneis (potentially) deeply engaged in the processof reconstructing and sustaining distributedmemory related to X.

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    Multidimensional frameworks fordistributed cognition

    The criteria to distinguish external resources that are indeed parts of thedistributed processing or those that are only external cues or triggers.

    The key dimensions:

    Reliance:The information of the external resource is constantly

    consulted when it is relevant. Accessibility: The external resource is directly available without

    difficulty.

    Trust:The information of the external resource is automatically

    endorsed. Entrenchment: The external resource is individualized (e.g., due

    to overtime development) and not interchangeable.

    Others(Clark and Chalmers, 1998, p. 38; Sterelny, 2010,pp. 473-477; Sutton, 2010, p. 534)

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    Accessibility

    Entrenchment

    OtherTrust

    Reliance

    How much can theinformation be trusted?

    How much does thedistributed memoryprocess rely on theinformation?

    How easy can the information beaccessed?

    Can it be replaced byother exogram orengram?

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    Accessibility

    Entrenchment

    OtherTrust

    Reliance

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    How much can theinformation be trusted?

    How much does thedistributed memoryprocess rely on theinformation?

    How easy can the information beaccessed?

    Can it be replaced byother exogram orengram?

    Eyewitness

    Long-termintimate partner

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    ?

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    Condition 2. Involvement ofmoral significance

    If one has the obligation to remember X, recalling orre-constructing a distributed memory related to X is

    morally significant (e.g., involving an individuals

    right, retributive justice and transitional justice).

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    Condition 1.Significant engagement

    Condition 2.Involvement of moral significance

    No moralsignificance

    Retributivejustice,

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    Further questions

    To put the model in practice, how can we draw the lineof demarcation of the existence of the obligation?Can we quantify ones engagement in the cognitiveprocess and the moral significance?

    Does ones obligation to remember imply the duty toenhance ones memory, if such kind of technology isavailable and established?

    If ones engagement in the cognitive process can beenhanced through neurointerventions (e.g., increasingaccessibility and trust), is she obliged to do it?

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    Thank you!

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