Temporal Disorientation in Episodic Memory: Navigating the Construction Process
Review of Philosophy and Psychology March 1, 2026 Francesca Righetti, Bastien Perroy
Temporal disorientation in episodic memory involves recalling events that are difficult to place in time. This paper argues for a constrained functional analogy between mental time travel and spatial navigation, characterizing temporal orientation as coordination between egocentric anchors and temporal structure (order, interval, and calendrical constraints). Temporal disorientation arises when this coordination breaks down. Drawing on constructive accounts of episodic memory, specifically the Scenario Construction Framework, the authors identify two distinct experiences: uncertainty whether an event occurred, and difficulty constructing the temporal sequence of remembered content. They propose that navigation in mental time and the feeling of temporal disorientation scaffold episodic construction, opening new paths for investigating mental navigation's role in memory.