This is GREAT Television
I just finished watching the first season of “Severance,” and hands down, it’s some of the most compelling TV I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait for season 2!
Imagine waking up in an empty room with no memory of who you are, where you come from, or even your own name. All you have is your logical reasoning and a few scattered facts. This is the premise of “Severance,” which follows office workers whose memories have been surgically divided between their work and personal lives. When they’re at work, they remember nothing about their personal lives, and vice versa. This setup raises some fascinating philosophical and ethical questions about memory and identity.
Ethical Issues and Conscious Experience
In “Severance,” the ethical issues of splitting up your memories are huge. The “innie,” or work self, never gets to chill or have a personal life. From their perspective, the moment they leave the office, they’re right back in it. This makes you think about the continuous conscious experience of the innie and the ethical mess of trapping a part of yourself in endless work mode.
Identity and Memory
The show makes us think about whether memory is key to our sense of self. Even without their personal memories, the innies in “Severance” still have unique personalities. This suggests that while memories shape who we are, there’s more to our identity than just past experiences.
Episodic and Semantic Memory
Memory can be broken down into two main types: episodic and semantic. Episodic memory records personal experiences, while semantic memory stores factual knowledge. In “Severance,” the innies keep their semantic memory but can’t access their episodic memories of their outie (personal self). This lets them function and understand the world without remembering personal experiences.
The Interplay of Episodic and Semantic Memory
Episodic and semantic memories often work together. You might forget what day it is (semantic knowledge) but remember it’s Friday because of your regular family dinners (episodic memory). Or you might know your birthdate (semantic memory) without recalling the actual event of being born. This interplay shows how our understanding of the world depends on both types of memory.
Implicit Memory and Procedural Knowledge
Another key part of memory is implicit or procedural memory, which involves skills and learned tasks that don’t need conscious thought, like walking or making coffee. The innies in “Severance” keep this type of memory, letting them do tasks without thinking about them.
Priming and Implicit Memory
Priming is a process where repeated exposure turns explicit memories into implicit ones. For example, making your first cup of coffee involves explicit memory, but by your 100th cup, it’s just automatic.
Memory, Identity, and Priming
Implicit memory shapes our identity and personality through priming. The experiences, ideas, and beliefs we’ve been exposed to turn into unconscious building blocks of our personality. This complex interaction between different types of memory influences who we are beyond our conscious awareness.
The Complexity of Identity and Memory
Identity is shaped by both explicit and implicit memories, raising questions about how much control we have over our identity. The ongoing debate between nature and nurture shows that as our implicit memory develops, we might change some aspects of our nature through conscious effort and external circumstances.
Internal Conflict and Self-Doubt
Trying to change inherent traits can lead to internal conflict and self-doubt. Attempting to alter aspects of ourselves might create a struggle that was doomed from the start, causing a divide between different parts of our inner being.
Fragmentation of Self
The idea that we can become fragmented by priming ourselves against our true nature is both tragic and frightening. This fragmentation can result in a loss of coherent self, with internal conflicts and external influences leaving us feeling like we only have fragmented pieces of our identity.
Despite our obsession with understanding ourselves, our identity remains a complex and multifaceted concept. The interplay between different forms of memory, nature, and nurture shows that our sense of self cannot be reduced to a single aspect. As we continue to explore these themes, it’s essential to approach ourselves and others with patience and humility, acknowledging that the struggle for identity is ongoing and ever-evolving.
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