1st Edition

Autobiographical Memory and Moral Agency Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Philosophy and Psychology

Edited By Daniel Vanello Copyright 2026
348 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

348 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This volume brings together, for the first time, perspectives from philosophy and psychology to investigate the role of autobiographical memory in moral agency. Autobiographical memory is the ability to recollect events in one’s past as part of one’s personal history. Moral agency is the ability to make moral judgements, act morally, and have a conception of the good life. Although a number of... Read more

List of Contributors


Introduction: autobiographical memory and moral agency Daniel Vanello

 1. Perspectives on Past and Future Perspectives Matthew Soteriou

 2. The Integrity of Moral Witnesses: Understanding Evil Through Autobiographical Memory Daniel Vanello

 3. Moral Agency and Responsibility in Autobiographical Remembering Anthony Marcel and Lia Kvavilashvili

 4. Embrace the Glorious Mess That You Are: Autobiographical Memory, Agency, and a Diachronic Sense of Self Marya Schectman

 5. Regret and Episodic Memory Carl Craver and R. Shayna Rosenbaum

 6. Narrating Moral Identity as a Quest: A Necessary Feature of Human Agency? Tobias Krettenauer

 7. Constructing Moral Agency Through Autobiographical Narration Monisha Pasupathi and Cecilia Wainryb

 8. The Moral Dimensions of Narrative Identity Dan P. McAdams

 9. Autobiographical Memory in Narratives of Alcoholism and Recovery Thomas Crowther

10. Ethics and Morality in Autobiographical Narrating: How Do Judgments of Moral Rightness and Ideas of a Good Life Show in Brief Entire Life Narratives? Tilmann Habermas

11. Episodic Memory, Memories, and the Pleasures of Remembering Christoph Hoerl

12. The Value of Family Storytelling Robyn Fivush

13. Constructing Moral Beliefs About Self and Others in the Context of Morally Laden Parent-child Discourse Debbie Laible, Afra Agalar, Melinda Westfall, and Chelsea Cortright

14. Auld Acquaintance: Remembering People and Ethics Naomi Eilan

Index

Biography

Daniel Vanello is Lecturer in Philosophy of Education at UCL’s Institute of Education. His areas of expertise are philosophy of mind and psychology, and ethics. Recent publications include “Moral Understanding, Affect, and the Imagination” in Inquiry and “Autobiographical Memory and Moral Identity Development” in Journal of Consciousness Studies.