Abstract
Much of the discussion on the ontology of forgotten and recovered memories seems to rest upon the interpretation of case histories. I will argue that the logical status of case histories is often poorly understood. As a consequence case histories have the effect of strengthening biases instead of testing theories. I suspect that this problem is introduced through the intertwining of psychology and legal practice. But the difference between science and justice is obvious: while juries and courts of judges use psychological theory to decide about a single case, scientists use single case histories to decide about general theories. If a case history does not allow generalization, it is irrelevant to us, no matter how relevant the trial might have been to those who were involved.
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Wagenaar, W.A., Mulhern, S. (1997). The Logical Status of Case Histories. In: Read, J.D., Lindsay, D.S. (eds) Recollections of Trauma. NATO ASI Series, vol 291. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2672-5_5
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