Episodic Memory: Subjective Time-Travel

Abstract

In this chapter, we continue our investigation of how humans exceptionally frame and remember their experiences in the world. Our mind seems to be rooted in episodes of experience. Think about what you think about when your mind is at rest. It is these episode experiences recalled from memory. When there is a matter at hand to attend to, we can focus our mind away from these episode flashes, but once it is over, the matter at hand becomes another one of the episode experiences that flash through our mind; if it is an important event, perhaps for the rest of our lives. These past episodes act as our “on” button, keeping open our channel to the world and experience. The Episodic Mind layer of human consciousness, our experiencing of the world and our memory of it, and how we utilize these memories, constitutes the communication channel between the outside world and what is inside us (Fig. 5.1).