Denis Perrin, Kristina Liefke, Tadeusz Ciecierski, Jakub Rudnicki and Kourken Michaelian
Affiliation: Université Grenoble Alpes, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, University of Warsaw, Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Grenoble Alpes
Category: Symposia
Keywords: memory, episodic memory, indexicality, context-sensitivity, semantics, philosophy, linguistics
Date: Friday 5th of September
Time: 14:30
Location: Maria Skłodowska-Curie Hall (123)
The symposium aims to provide a platform for the discussion of topics at the interface of indexicality (semantics, philosophy of language) and memory (psychology, philosophy of mind). This discussion is inspired by philosophy of memory's recent interest in semantic concepts (e.g. reference, accuracy) and by semantics' recent interest in 'experiential' attitudes (e.g. imagination, memory, perception). It builds on these trends by focusing on one area of intersection that has received little attention: indexicality—i.e., the impact of context on the content of linguistic utterances and thoughts. This concept has been central to philosophy of language and linguistics since Kaplan’s classic Demonstratives, in which he laid the groundwork for a formal investigation of the phenomenon. Seeking connections between memory, especially episodic memory—i.e., memory for personally experienced events—and indexicality is natural. Episodic memories aim to represent first-person experiences whose content is anchored to the subject's perspective as determined by the context of the experience, while also being sensitive to the perspective during recollection. This connection naturally opens the possibility of applying frameworks from the study of indexicality in language to questions concerning the accuracy of memories. Furthermore, the relevance of the two mentioned perspectives establishes links to topics such as the retention of memory-based beliefs over time, the impact of tense on the content of memories, and others. The four proposed talks address the theme of “Indexicality in Memory” from different perspectives, demonstrating the fruitfulness and wide applicability of merging the aforementioned research avenues. The talk entitled Strong Veridicalism: A 2D Semantic Model of Authenticity Conditions of Episodic Memories aims to directly apply Kaplan’s (1989) two-level approach to the semantics of indexicals to the issue of accuracy conditions of episodic memories—a topic widely discussed in the philosophy of memory (Bernecker 2010). ‘Generic Memory’-Indexicals offers an application of the formal linguistics framework of multi-centered propositions—which builds upon classic debates over indexical attitudes (Perry 1979)—to the problem of determining the content of so-called generic memories (Entwistle 2025). These are episodic memories formed not as the result of a single event but through numerous similar events. The third talk, Are Memory-Based Modes of Presentation Needed to Address the Indexical Cognitive Dynamics Problem?, explores the relationship between the sameness of content of indexical beliefs over time (Branquinho 2008) and our capacity for objectual thought grounded in memory-based links. The talk approaches this issue by applying the hybrid expression framework—a tool whose fruitfulness in addressing indexicality was first recognized already by Frege. Finally, Tense and the Distinction between Episodic and Semantic Memory in Natural Language explores what temporal inferential remembering can reveal about how natural languages encode the concept of remembering. The talk argues that languages such as English possess two distinct concepts of remembering—one akin to semantic remembering and the other to episodic remembering (Stephenson 2010)—with the former best explained by the epistemic theory and the latter by the causal theory of remembering, two frameworks traditionally seen as competing.