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Can memory be considered a sense?

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Ray wrote:

Memory utilizes recollection of our five senses. A sense is an interaction between our sensory receptors and the external world. A memory seems more like a recording or a guess at what had happened.

Obviously Memory is harder to qualify as a "sense" in the way we normally think of "the five senses". But I wanted to bring the idea up for consideration because it's an unusual way of classifying "memory".

It occured to me that our ability to sense the passage of time could be considered a sense much like all the others. And the tool we use or sensing the passage of time is memory.

We sense light with our eyes, and our brains interpret that into vision.
We sense vibrations with our ears, and our brains interpret that into sound.
We sense a sequence of events with our memory, and our brains interpret that into the passage of time.

Our memory allows us to sense the passage of time, so couldn't it be considered a sense, just like all the others?

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That's a very interesting way of looking at it Ros.

I guess you could look at it that way. The sense is not very developed though, as memory is very prone to changes and obscurity.

I look at memory as some form of storage of informations gathered from the five senses, and even emotional spontaneity at times. I think it's not sensing time directly, because it's like hearing the recording or looking at a painting/photo of a certain event.

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Ray wrote:

I look at memory as some form of storage of informations gathered from the five senses, and even emotional spontaneity at times. I think it's not sensing time directly, because it's like hearing the recording or looking at a painting/photo of a certain event.

True, it's used more as a tool for the brain to do a comparison. Kind of like the section of the brain which interprets images from the retina.

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Re: Can memory be considered a sense?

rosborne979 wrote:

Beena wrote:
rosborne979 wrote:
We use our eyes to see, our ears to hear and our hands to touch. Do we use our memory to sense time?

Without our memory, we would not perceive time, just as without our eyes, we would be unaware of light.

In this way, can the property of memory within the human brain be considered a sense like the others?

No I don't think the property of memory could be considered a sense just like other senses. Memory is held inside a database and a database is not some sense either. A database and memory both are ACCESSED, right? And we don't access senses but we use them.

Wow did this thread get resurrected All the way from 2003 to 2006.

It was so old it had almost faded from my memory, and I no longer sensed it

Okay, okay, you're right and I'm wrong. memory is accessed and used, both!

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No, memory cannot be accessed, it can only be recalled and that recalling is not in our physical control. If memory could be accessed, then it would be in our physical control but it's not. So memory cannot be accessed, it can only be recalled back which is not really in our physical control.

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Beena wrote:

No, memory cannot be accessed, it can only be recalled and that recalling is not in our physical control. If memory could be accessed, then it would be in our physical control but it's not. So memory cannot be accessed, it can only be recalled back which is not really in our physical control.

What do you mean by "accessed" versus "recalled" and by "physical control"?

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memory is a sense, but not to perceive time. General thought is used to perceive time, but memory is used to examine your general thought on time.

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Our memory is simply our developed brain. Our brain develops by using our senses. our memory is the plant, our senses are the leaves and the stimulus comes in the form of sight sound taste touch and smell.

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RoyalesThaRula wrote:

Our memory is simply our developed brain. Our brain develops by using our senses. our memory is the plant, our senses are the leaves and the stimulus comes in the form of sight sound taste touch and smell.

Our memory is not neccecerily our developed brain, it is our second most noticed part of our mind (next to present thought.) The memory can only be filled up to a certain point and then you have to start dumping things, but general thought can be filled up nearly infinetly.

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rosborne979 wrote:

Beena wrote:
No, memory cannot be accessed, it can only be recalled and that recalling is not in our physical control. If memory could be accessed, then it would be in our physical control but it's not. So memory cannot be accessed, it can only be recalled back which is not really in our physical control.

What do you mean by "accessed" versus "recalled" and by "physical control"?

Well, to access something means you have the means to get to it for sure. To recall means that you can try recalling it, it may come it may not come. And physical control means that I have access to this computer so it is in my physical control. But to recall memory is not in my physical control because I don't have the means to get to it. Brain might be involved somewhat in trying to retrieve it but where it is held in the main database of God, Someone there has to let go of it I think. But I don't know the truth.

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memory is under your mental control. You can see all of your memories at once or focus on only one, but general thought can only be made sense of if you look at each thought .

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Rosbourne, I've been thinking about this...can we sense time without changes that are detected through the use of the other senses? I don't think we can.

I'm pretty sure sensory deprivation can leave the subject very confused about how much time has passed.

(I'm now not sure if I have disputed your point or supported it)

But it would seem that the passing of time cannot be "sensed" without external cues detected by the ordinary senses....?

edit:fixed a word

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Eorl wrote:

Rosbourne, I've been thinking about this...can we sense time without changes that are detected through the use of the other senses? I don't think we can.

I'm pretty sure sensory deprivation can leave the subject very confused about how much time has passed.

I think it becomes harder to sense time under complete sensory deprivation, but not impossible. Even when completely sensory deprived you can still think, and the fact that you remember a sequence of thoughts, is a function of memory, and reveals the passage of time.

I don't really think there's a right or wrong answer to my question Eorl. But I think it's an interesting way of looking at memory, and realizing just how much it does for us. I'm not sure any cognitive process exists without memory.

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