Episodic memory has been analyzed in a number of different ways in both philosophy and psychology, and most controversy has centered on its self-referential,autonoeticcharacter. Here, we offer a comprehensive characterization of episodic memory in representational terms and propose a novel functional account on this basis. We argue that episodic memory should be understood as a distinctive epistemic attitude taken toward an event simulation. In this view, episodic memory has a metarepresentational format and should not be equated with beliefs about the past. Instead, empirical findings suggest that the contents of human episodic memory are often constructed in the service of the explicit justification of such beliefs. Existing accounts of episodic memory function that have focused on explaining its constructive character through its role in future-oriented mental time travel do justice neither to its capacity to ground veridical beliefs about the past nor to its representational format. We provide an account of the metarepresentational structure of episodic memory in terms of its role in communicative interaction. The generative nature of recollection allows us to represent and communicate the reasons why we hold certain beliefs about the past. In this process, autonoesis corresponds to the capacity to determine when and how to assert epistemic authority in making claims about the past. A domain where such claims are indispensable are human social engagements. Such engagements commonly require the justification of entitlements and obligations, which is often possible only by explicit reference to specific past events.

中文翻译：

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我们为什么记得？情景记忆的交际功能

情节记忆在哲学和心理学中都以多种不同的方式进行了分析，大多数争议都集中在它的自我参照上，自主的特点。在这里，我们以代表性术语对情景记忆进行了全面的描述，并在此基础上提出了一种新的功能描述。我们认为，情景记忆应该被理解为对事件模拟采取的一种独特的认知态度。在这种观点中，情景记忆具有元表征格式，不应等同于对过去的信念。相反，实证研究结果表明，人类情景记忆的内容通常是为这些信念的明确辩护而构建的。现有的关于情景记忆功能的描述，侧重于通过其在面向未来的心理时间旅行中的作用来解释其建设性特征，既不能证明其建立关于过去的真实信念的能力，也不能证明它的表征形式。我们根据情景记忆在交际互动中的作用，对情景记忆的元表征结构进行了说明。回忆的生成性使我们能够表达和交流我们对过去持有某些信念的原因。在这个过程中，自主意识对应于确定何时以及如何在对过去提出主张时主张认知权威的能力。此类声明必不可少的领域是人类社会参与。此类约定通常需要证明权利和义务的正当性，而这通常只有通过明确提及特定的过去事件才能实现。回忆的生成性使我们能够表达和交流我们对过去持有某些信念的原因。在这个过程中，自主意识对应于确定何时以及如何在对过去提出主张时主张认知权威的能力。此类声明必不可少的领域是人类社会参与。此类约定通常需要证明权利和义务的正当性，而这通常只有通过明确提及特定的过去事件才能实现。回忆的生成性使我们能够表达和交流我们对过去持有某些信念的原因。在这个过程中，自主意识对应于确定何时以及如何在对过去提出主张时主张认知权威的能力。此类声明必不可少的领域是人类社会参与。此类约定通常需要证明权利和义务的正当性，而这通常只有通过明确提及特定的过去事件才能实现。