Rival Memories

This chapter considers Robert Boyle's views on memory and note-taking in the light of his relationship with Samuel Hartlib, and especially as revealed in his correspondence in the 1660s with John Beale. The young Boyle thought and wrote about the mental and moral cultivation of the mind, independent of the use of notes. He was therefore potentially receptive to Beale's emphasis on memory training, and on abbreviation, reduction and systematic display of information. However, Boyle was suspicious of premature systems and also aware of the need for rich empirical detail gathered over a lifetime. Moreover, in Boyle's case, deep personal memory consolidated by his episodic memory, enriched his scientific thinking.

Cognitive science · Historical Art and Culture Studies · Psychology