Feeling Episodic: Dimensions of Phenomenology in Observer Memory

One interesting aspect of the imagery of episodic memory is the distinct visual perspectives that can be adopted when remembering the personal past. As Peggy St. Jacques (2024) notes, these distinct perspectives are typically associated with differences in phenomenological profile in episodic recall. We pick up on St. Jacques’ description of phenomenological differences between field and observer perspectives and outline new ways to think about how such differences might arise. Drawing on existing work in philosophy to highlight some of the different components that might contribute to the phenomenology of a mental state or process, we apply this to the case of observer memory. This approach may identify novel avenues of empirical research, which would help shed light on the differences in phenomenology reported in observer memory.