we talk of having a good memory, of having a poor memory, of having a better memory faces than for names, of having a memory that is failing, and so on.
Such talk suggests that memory is an object, a thing which we posses in the same way as we posses ahead or a big toe.
ํํYet it is true, although alarming, to say that there is no such thing as memory.
A big toe can be seen and touched, but not so memory.
Should an acquaintance boast of having an excellent memory, we cannot confirm his claim in the same way as if he boasted the possession of a well-stocked library.
We can ask him to close the book and try to recit what he has just read.
If he reels off the page verbatim, we conclude that his claim, is, at the least, not without foundation.
But we have not observed anything which could be called a memory.
We have given him an opportunity to learn something and then to demonstrate how well he remembers it.
We have not examined anything which he has, but have watched him doing something, namely, repeating or trying to repeat something he has read.
In short, we have concerned ourselves not with an object but with an activity, not with his memory but with his activity of remembering.