Title: The Justificatory Power of Memory Experience

Abstract: Psychological research has revealed that our episodic memories are constructive in nature. This paper examines how episodic memories, despite being constructive, can provide us with justification for beliefs about the past. Foundationalism and reliabilism are two major theories of memorial justification in the recent literature. I first argue that foundationalism is problematic by comparing certain kinds of memory construction with cognitive penetration to perception. I illustrate how different versions of reliabilism all face a skeptical challenge. Then I propose and defend an alternative, two-part theory, which recognizes an epistemic difference that foundationalism and reliabilism overlook. Although this theory leaves certain aspects unspecified, it is a step forward.

Speaker Bio: Lu Teng is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at New York University Shanghai (NYU Shanghai), working primarily in epistemology, the philosophy of mind, and cognitive science. In Fall 2022-Spring 2023, she is visiting and teaching at NYU New York.