Autobiographical Memory and Moral Agency by Daniel Vanello

Autobiographical Memory and Moral Agency by Daniel Vanello

This volume brings together, for the first time, perspectives from philosophy and psychology to investigate the role of autobiographical memory in moral agency. Autobiographical memory is the ability to recollect events in one’s past as part of one’s personal history. Moral agency is the ability to make moral judgements, act morally, and have a conception of the good life. Although a number of philosophers and psychologists have drawn attention to the role of autobiographical memory in moral agency, there is no sustained project that brings together these different lines of inquiry into a unified research area.

The aim of this volume is to answer this need by bringing together leading voices in research in autobiographical memory and moral agency from both philosophy and psychology to provide a unified framework for a new interdisciplinary research area. Key areas of research explored in this volume include temporal perspectives, moral identity, autobiographical narrative, joint reminiscing, the internalisation of moral value, attachments, and amnesia.

Autobiographical Memory and Moral Agency will appeal to researchers and advanced students in philosophy of mind, moral philosophy, philosophy of education, developmental psychology, and educational psychology who are interested in the role of memory in moral psychology and moral development.

Daniel Vanello is Lecturer in Philosophy of Education at UCL’s Institute of Education. His areas of expertise are philosophy of mind and psychology, and ethics. Recent publications include “Moral Understanding, Affect, and the Imagination” in Inquiry and “Autobiographical Memory and Moral Identity Development” in Journal of Consciousness Studies.