Memory Systems of 1999

In 1804, the French philosopher Maine de Biran published a monograph that contained a novel and perhaps even radical thesis. He contended that memory is not a single function or entity, instead distinguishing among three separate types or forms that can operate independently of one another: representative memory (conscious recall of facts and events), mechanical memory (learning of habits and skills), and sensitive memory (affective modifications). Maine de Biran devoted a great deal of attention to explaining, elaborating, and illustrating his key thesis (Maine de Biran, 1929; see Schacter & Tulving, 1994, for further discussion).