Margherita Arcangeli: "Aphantasia, episodic memory and creativity"

Margherita Arcangeli, Institut Jean Nicod: "Aphantasia, episodic memory and creativity"

Abstract
A recent proposal is to characterise aphantasia as an episodic memory condition. Aphantasics show difficulties in recalling details of situations from their distant and recent past, they are less confident about their episodic memories and also seem to be less emotionally affected by them. Yet they can be very creative, questioning the intuitive idea that creative processes call on episodic memory. But can we really say that aphantasics have a poor episodic memory? The aim of this talk is to analyse in depth different strands of research that challenge this view and emphasise the necessity for a more in-depth understanding of episodic memory in aphantasics, which in turn will prompt a deeper reflection on the link between episodic memory and creativity.