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Memory and nostalgia

Painting of large trees with exposed roots in a forest, sunlight filtering through leaves, house visible in the background.

Imagination

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Aphantasia can be a gift to philosophers and critics like me

Aphantasia veils the past and the future from the mind’s eye. That can be a gift to philosophers like Derek Parfit and me

by Mette Leonard Høeg

Abstract painting of a blurred urban scene with teal and orange hues depicting moving silhouettes in a cityscape.

The self

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Memory involves the whole body. It’s how the self defies amnesia

People with anterograde amnesia can’t rely on memory alone for their sense of self. Instead, they remember with their body

by Ben Platts-Mills

Photograph of a woman sitting on a kerb holding a white flower surrounded by people in a crowd, some standing some seated.

Forgiveness

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Must you forget to forgive? A scientist tests the relationship

Forgiveness is colloquially linked with fading memory – but research is probing what it really means to let go of wrongdoing

by Shayla Love

Night-time long exposure photo of a road with blurry, colourful light trails from car headlights and taillights against a dark background.

The self

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Sudden amnesia showed me the self is a convenient fiction

Sudden amnesia let me experience what Buddhists and philosophers have been saying all along about the existence of the self

by Steven Hales

Photo of a cyclist casting dramatic shadows on sunlit pavement, with warm light flares creating a dreamy effect.

Psychiatric medication

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Benzos calmed my anxiety, but my memory became a deep fog

With anxiety levels rising during the pandemic, a corresponding rush on benzodiazepine use could have a huge toll on memory

by Alex Smith

Photo of a suburban street with overlapping images, showing houses, lawns and a faint figure in the foreground.

Altered states

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Déjà vu is just one of many uncanny kinds of déjà experiences

What can the many types of déjà experiences that most people have tell us about reality, memory and the gaps in between?

by Art Funkhouser

Engraving of St Luke’s Hospital interior with patients and staff, featuring large windows and arched architecture.

Thinkers and theories

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What Arthur Schopenhauer learned about genius at the asylum

‘Might not madness be a mere derangement of memory?’ What Arthur Schopenhauer learnt when he went into the asylum

by David Bather Woods

Photo of a child holding a colourful layered cake about to take a bite wearing a white jumper with blue spots.

Memory and nostalgia

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You can feel nostalgia for things that you haven’t yet lost

Nostalgia is a longing for the past, but psychologists are coming to realise it can focus on the future too

by Shayla Love

Photo of ancient clay sculptures of human heads partially buried in dirt, showing worn and textured surfaces.

Death and dying

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Why ancient Mesopotamians buried their dead beneath the floor

In an age before photos or audio recordings, people found other ways to stay sensorially connected to their deceased

by Nicola Laneri

Photo of a riverside with buildings, a bridge and Tower Bridge in view, pedestrians on a pebbled shore in the foreground.

Stories and literature

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Time, like memory, is fickle: days wrap back on themselves

Time, like memory, is structurally fickle: days wrap back on themselves. The experience of it is hardly ever chronological

by Grace Linden

Vintage photo of a group of women in white dresses lounging outdoors on the grass, with trees in the background.

Memory and nostalgia

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In a journey through time I’ve seen the past imprinted on the present

Memory allows us to break free from chronological time, to extend ourselves beyond a single life to embrace earlier generations

by Vicky Grut

Photo of a wooden dresser with a round mirror books and notes. A tape measure and candle holder are on the dresser.

The self

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What my mother’s sticky notes show about the nature of the self

Dementia accelerates a process we all experience, as our memories become increasingly externalised into the world around us

by Crispin Sartwell