Have we become more depressed because we have stopped memorising?

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(This is a shortened version of an original blog post by skdevitt. For the original, please visit Feed: Philosophy of Memory)

Education from ancient greece to early 20th century was largely a process of memorisation. Students were expected to learn, remember and use a large variety of cultural materials to furnish their thoughts, words and actions. Once finished with studies, students would continue to have poetry, literature, theatre, religion and history to draw on, wherever they were, when ruminating on particular struggles through their lives. Take Shakespeare, woven throughout his dialogues are poetic and cultu

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