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Hypnosis May Cause False Memories
By JANE E. BRODY SEPT. 10, 1997

HYPNOSIS, even self-hypnosis, can sometimes result in the creation of false memories -- the belief that something happened even though it never did. A psychologist at Ohio State University in Lima and fellow researchers found that even when people were warned about the possibility of acquiring pseudo-memories under hypnosis, more than a quarter of them did anyway. Dr. Joseph Green, a professor of psychology at Ohio State and co-author of the study, said, ''There's a cultural expectation that hypnosis will lead to more accurate and earlier memories, but that's not true.'’
For that reason, there is a raging controversy over the use of hypnosis to help people recall lost memories of early trauma. Many experts dispute the conclusion that such recovered memories are always real . . .
Note well the date: late mid 1990s. The nineties were the time of the “recovered memory” craze. It ruined a lot of good men. Good, prosperous men. Men who had unhappy (Denis Prager might suggest, “ungrateful”) daughters and the money to pay for psychoanalysis for them. Because if the analyst found it in his interest, he could easily use unethical means under psychoanalysis to “recover” a memory of paternal abuse.
Understand, basically you ARE your memories. You don’t so much have memories, as your memories have you. So these daughters were entirely turned against their fathers, and the poor schlubs didn’t have a chance - their marriages and their lives as they knew them, gone whist! Unless, as happened only too rarely, the “recovered” memories could be disproven by objective fact. That took a lot of luck.
The conceit that such “memories” (note that, to those possessed by them, they cannot be distinguished from reality - so they would object vehemently, and persuasively, against the scare quotes) are probative is evil. Caused a lot of harm, “validating” accusations against good men.
Presently including, IMHO, Brett Kavanaugh, but in the past lots of men who are relatively anonymous. And, I’ve seen argued persuasively, Joe Paterno. Plenty of FReepers have bought that one hook, line, and sinker. And are not open to any argumentation to the contrary. As a certain former FReeper would ruefully attest. And also, I have argued in the past (tho the subject isn’t fresh in mind as to why I thought so), Roy Moore.

The conceit that such “memories” are probative is evil.