Trends in philosophy of memory: A quantitative approach

Until the middle of the twentieth century, there was relatively little philosophical work on memory. The volume of literature began to increase in the middle of the century and has increased rapidly in recent years, as memory has come to constitute a distinct field of research within philosophy. Indeed, the number of publications in the field has exceeded a hundred per year for the last decade and continues to grow. Given the growth in the literature, the time is right to attempt to identify trends in the field. Applying quantitative techniques to PhilMemBib, a database of roughly two and a half thousand English-language philosophical publications on memory, this article surveys over a century of philosophical research on memory, describing the conceptual landscape of the field in both synchronic and diachronic terms. It finds that, before 1994, the major topics are personal identity and epistemology. Personal identity is no longer frequently discussed after 2015. Epistemology continues to be discussed after 2015, but it no longer occupies a dominant position. Traditional philosophy of mind is dominant in the 2000s, but it rapidly declines after 2015. There is a dramatic change around that time, as the focus shifts to philosophy of psychology and cognitive science or to philosophy of mind informed by empirical word in those disciplines.