Nested structure of time consciousness and its dependence on mental time travel competence and episodic memory

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi, Felsefe Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2013

Öğrenci: ÖZGE DURAL ÖZER

Danışman: AYHAN SOL

Özet:

The main objective of this master thesis is to clarify the nested structure in time consciousness, depending on mental time travel and episodic memory. Time consciousness, mental time travel and episodic memory are connected, and function depending on each other. Mental time travel ability enables us to imagine personal future events. Episodic memory allows us to travel mentally into both past and future. Similarity between remembering the past and imagining the future indicates that episodic memory system contribute to future-directed personal mental time travel competence, and justifies the relation between episodic memory and mental time travel into both past and future. Episodic memory requires autonoetic consciousness, which can be applied to mental time travel competence, and mental time travel is a function of episodic memory. Distinguishing humans and non-humans is a method to understand the role of episodic memory and mental time travel in time consciousness. Episodic memory and mental time travel indicate to a higher-level time consciousness in humans, because mental time travel, episodic memory, autonoetic consciousness and recursive language are unique to humans, while non-humans show future-directed acts, possess episodic-like memory, and communicate with limited ways. Time consciousness is derived from the notion of autonoetic consciousness and it is a sort of temporal consciousness which enables us to be conscious of ourselves who travels in time and aware of ourselves along the temporal line. Non-humans have a rudimentary form of time consciousness, even they are deprived of autonoetic consciousness.