Reconceptualizing Memory: A Critique of Contemporary Models and the ARCHÉ Model as an Alternative

Contemporary neuroscientific and cognitive models of memory have made significant strides in describing the neurophysiological underpinnings of information storage and retrieval. However, these approaches exhibit serious limitations when it comes to explaining subjective experience, motivational phenomena, and the affective richness of memories. Phenomena such as the intensity of recollections, recognition without conscious recall (familiarity), the role of memory in identity formation, and somatic responses to memory remain insufficiently understood. The ARCHÉ model (Artificial Resonant Consciousness and Hedonic Evaluation) offers an alternative approach, one that conceptualizes memory not as a repository of information but as a dynamic resonant process integrating bodily, affective, and cognitive levels of experience.