How intertwined is human consciousness with human memory?

Question

What do you think? Thoughts/feelings on memory? Without memory, what kind of consciousness do we have? I mean, learning needs memory. Any theories on memory?

Answer 1

Consciousness as we are used to it requires memory. A good but scary example I give is those who experience severe Alzheimer's and have completely lost there memory both short and long term, will just sit there, apparently dead, they do nothing, they appear as if they are in a coma or in a vegetative state although they are in neither.

Memory is split into to categories, short term and long term. Consciousness can continue as we know as long as one of the two are intact, if both are gone, we really can't know if someone like that is Conscious because they simply can't respond or communicate.

Consciousness requires a few things and with one of them missing consciousness itself seems to fall apart.

Answer 2

what is consciousness..to me it is our very being that makes us aware of every thing thats going on..for example as i type this answer im aware of my son playin xbox..my dog in the next room ..chores to do etc...memory to me is only a fragment of the conscious..we dont remember everything we are conscious of ..our mind takes away the unwanted and leaves us with only what we need to rememember

Answer 3

Without memory, there's

existence, sensations, and

thoughts.  

Memory recalls, recognizes,

experiences.  Memory

pushes to the front what we

learned, helps us enjoy it.  

Without memory, the

learning process is

interrupted.

Answer 4

Very.

i think,though,that now since the work of (Sir karl) Popper,it can readily be said that there is a large area-typically the popper-ian critical area,and ONLY a popper-typical/critical area,that has little conscious memory;i mean and am talking here about such (self critical)learning that has a quality more like that of a discovery,rather that an inventive,learning quality.

Its as if criticism does partly contain a sort-of "free" area which HAS NO CONSCIOUS memory.

And this free's itself to continue on its ever more critical-and-enlightening search;a search which CAN then be recorded-i mean opened out so-to-speak, -where it is codified,ordered and planned(for example in writing/math/ect)and from where it can be further changed,recriticised and improved.

Rather like a manuscript or document or painting that is "unearthed",centuries or more,later;when its discovered value is immense,and greatly changes our (possible world or just personal) view.