7.1: Memory and Reasoning
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The study of memory bears on our study of reasoning in three ways:
- We often base the premises of our reasoning on what we think we remember. Since we usually trust our memories, such premises are usually thought to be especially secure.
- Memory involves inference. This inference is influenced by our expectations, ways of labeling data, and even our biases, desires, and self-interest— the very things that so often lead to faulty reasoning.
- Memory is susceptible to various sorts of errors, so we need critical reasoning to evaluate claims about what we remember.
Human memory is extremely impressive, but it can trip us up, and some of its errors lead to errors in reasoning. How good are our memories? We have all used hundreds of phones. What letters go on which buttons (Figure 7.1.1)?
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We have seen thousands of Lincoln-head pennies. Which image is correct (Figure 7.2.1 in the next section)?
If we can’t remember the details of very familiar objects like phones and pennies, we may wonder how accurately people remember the details of things they see only briefly. How reliable, for example, is eyewitness testimony likely to be?