UC Riverside

This project aims to produce an account of procedural memory, specifically as it relates to physical skills. Part 1 is an exploration of the nature of skill moving through literature spanning philosophy of mind, psychology, cognitive science and epistemology. From this exploration, several key criteria for skill are developed that will need to be met and maintained in an account of the memory of this phenomenon throughout the rest of the project. Building on these criteria, Part 2 demonstrates that existing dominant models of memory, namely Storage and Retrieval, Reconstructive, and Simulationist accounts, are not sufficient to encapsulate or explain procedural memory, though they do offer some hints as to what we should be looking for. Based on the shortcomings of existing accounts, Part 3 examines accounts from an altogether different approach, namely embodied views on memory. However, it is determined that not all embodied views are fit for an account of procedural memory and that views that lay out a clearer connection with the experience of time and bodily influence in memory are necessary. As such, the project ultimately puts forward a positive account inspired by figures like Merleau-Ponty and Maxine Sheets-Johnstone whereby procedural memory is a process of holding together one’s past, present and future through intentional action and familiar kinesthetic movements.