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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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