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Fascinating discussion over here and here about being able (or not able) to mentally "see" things.
I don't have time to do justice to this post but wanted to jot down a few observations on my own memories.
If I don't have any visual memory of an event, I feel as if I do not "remember" it. For example, yesterday when returning from lunch, as I came out of the stairwell, I realized I didn't remember having walked across the 4th floor landing - I had no visual memory of it. Yet there I was coming out of the stairwell, so I must have done it. I didn't remember it, as I had been deeply engaged in thought (perhaps even thoughts about the above posts!) while walking.
In retrospect, I start to build a visual memory of the event, based on the many times I have walked across the 4th floor landing. So I can picture myself doing it, but in this particular instance, I had no precise memory of it. Now, if I try to remember back further than yesterday, I'm not likely to remember any precise memories of walking across that landing (unless there was something specific that occurred that made me remember it in a special way - such as someone stopping to talk to me), but I have a composite memory of all the times I have done it. And that memory is a bunch of images, both from my own 1st person viewpoint, and from third person viewpoints of seeing myself walk across the landing.
Now, obviously the 3rd person viewpoints are all "made up" by my mind... so maybe a part of my memory isn't actually based on images, but my mind makes up images to express the memories. Yet I do feel that some of my memories are actual images I saw.
Take yesterday when I was walking *out* to lunch. I tried to remember it. At first I didn't recall anything specific; my mind simply brought forth composite images of all the times I've walked out to lunch. Then I remembered something specific - as I was walking out the front doors, there were 2 security people at the front desk, rather than the more common single person. They were talking to each other. I believe one was standing and one was sitting - that's the image I recall. Then I remembered that just as I was walking out the doors, I paused and looked back at them, as I had heard something that sounded vaguely like my name. I wanted to be sure they weren't addressing me. This memory is of something I did, and of something I heard. For this memory, my mental memory was from a 3rd person viewpoint, seeing me turn my head back. I wasn't looking at the guards when I heard that.. so I can't have a visual image of it.. yet I do remember it..
...
I don't have time to do justice to this post but wanted to jot down a few observations on my own memories.
If I don't have any visual memory of an event, I feel as if I do not "remember" it. For example, yesterday when returning from lunch, as I came out of the stairwell, I realized I didn't remember having walked across the 4th floor landing - I had no visual memory of it. Yet there I was coming out of the stairwell, so I must have done it. I didn't remember it, as I had been deeply engaged in thought (perhaps even thoughts about the above posts!) while walking.
In retrospect, I start to build a visual memory of the event, based on the many times I have walked across the 4th floor landing. So I can picture myself doing it, but in this particular instance, I had no precise memory of it. Now, if I try to remember back further than yesterday, I'm not likely to remember any precise memories of walking across that landing (unless there was something specific that occurred that made me remember it in a special way - such as someone stopping to talk to me), but I have a composite memory of all the times I have done it. And that memory is a bunch of images, both from my own 1st person viewpoint, and from third person viewpoints of seeing myself walk across the landing.
Now, obviously the 3rd person viewpoints are all "made up" by my mind... so maybe a part of my memory isn't actually based on images, but my mind makes up images to express the memories. Yet I do feel that some of my memories are actual images I saw.
Take yesterday when I was walking *out* to lunch. I tried to remember it. At first I didn't recall anything specific; my mind simply brought forth composite images of all the times I've walked out to lunch. Then I remembered something specific - as I was walking out the front doors, there were 2 security people at the front desk, rather than the more common single person. They were talking to each other. I believe one was standing and one was sitting - that's the image I recall. Then I remembered that just as I was walking out the doors, I paused and looked back at them, as I had heard something that sounded vaguely like my name. I wanted to be sure they weren't addressing me. This memory is of something I did, and of something I heard. For this memory, my mental memory was from a 3rd person viewpoint, seeing me turn my head back. I wasn't looking at the guards when I heard that.. so I can't have a visual image of it.. yet I do remember it..
...