On Declarative Memory and Knowledge

Declarative Memory and Knowledge are, most simply, the things that we know that we can tell people. This set of memories and knowledge is composed of Episodic memories and Semantic memories. Episodic memories are born of experience. I was hit by a hockey stick, so I can recall the episode and have the knowledge that yes, it does in fact hurt to be hit with a hockey stick. Semantic memories, conversely, are learned by other means. There are roughly 300 million people in America. I've never met them, so I have no idea that this is actually true. However, I believe that I have this knowledge because the sources of the information are 'reliable.' I have found, however, that it is possible to merely possess Semantic knowledge without allowing it to govern your actions. This, I believe, is the source of "knowing better." I am plagued with semantic knowledge that fails to govern my life. We have all learned so much from others: from parents and peers and role models and teachers and strangers and books and movies, but what is it that we really know? How much of my knowledge actually affects my life? I'm finding it's less and less each day. I wish I could say I was replacing it with episodic memory, but it seems I'm just letting go of the things I had once learned in favor of something else. Something deeply flawed and, in that, deeply human.