Memories can be good and bad. Good memories certainly do not hinder people. And as for bad ones: people often say that we "learn from our mistakes." And that, in a large sense, is true. So memories are beneficial because we learn from our successes and failures.

I think it's about your outlook on life or the way you were raised. If you're fairly sheltered memories might be an issue, and I think with a lot of people now all make mistakes that we knew before hand would be mistakes. Those may hinder, but overall without memories... how could we function at all? If trial and error is at the core of experience and ultimately, wisdom.

There are some things in life that you have to just deal with, or learn to accept and part of that is your past. If you can learn to make memories your bitch you will have less repeated mistakes in the future.

I think the question of this debate should be phrased differently. Without memory, you can't learn anything at all or even form most of the learned mechanisms of the brain that technically aren't considered memories.

I believe memories help people, good or bad. You remember the knawing of hunger in your belly, so you know to eat. You remember the pain of a burn so you know not to stick you hand in a fire. You remember the smile of a friend so you know you have someone to trust. But at the same time, memories hinder when you ahve something traumatic happen like a rape or witness a horrible crime being committed. Some images and memories cannot be earased and ca contribute to fear and loathing. Most memories are good though. If we hadn't remembered how to balance on our two legs, we would still be sitting on the floor wearing diapers.

Without memories we have no context. Without context there is no understanding. Without understanding there is no civilization, culture, or communication.

Even animals with their in-bred instincts still rely upon their experiences to determine the appropriate behavior.

I think that... wait, what was the question again?

I think that memories help to hinder people because my wife has an excellent memory and she uses it to hinder me all the time ;)

Memories help and hinder people. Sometimes painful memories prevent people from doing things that might be in their best interest. For instance, if a clown kills your Dad than you might be afraid to go to a circus. That is a major hinderance because circus performers are entertaining gypsies have small hands and smells like cabbage.

Sometimes memories can be harmful. They can, in a sense, haunt a person and prevent him from making fully rational decisions. For example, in the Truman Show, Truman, a child at the time, witnesses his father drown. This, in turn, leads him to fear the ocean for years.