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dream vs. reality

RedPhoenix
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Posted 02/17/08 - 10:47 PM:	#11
When you are awake, your conscious mind is primarily focused on the external world. Perhaps when you sleep the conscious mind reverts to exploring within one's self. Are dreams simply an intermingling of the conscious and subconscious? If so, might one then argue that dreams are not separate from reality, but rather part of the reality that one experiences in their life as a whole?

jssbastiat
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Location: Bush, Alaska

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Posted 10/17/09 - 09:39 PM:	#12
I posted this early but it was deleted because of illiteracy. So, I'll use correct grammar in this one and hopefully it will stay. I think that this paraphrase from my logic professor 25 years ago was right on to this subject. As to whether we can tell if we are living in a dream or reality, my professor said something like this, "How do we know if we are in a dream or reality? You can't really prove the other person is in reality with you, but, you can prove that you exist. You start with Descartes when he says, "I think, therefore I am". I exist, I have feelings, thoughts, urges, needs, etc that must be fulfilled or else I die or live a poor existence here. Now, whether 'you' are consciously here or just a figment of my imagination does not change one thing, "I" must work, eat, use the bathroom, provide shelter, etc. Further, to take the bull by the horns, I can see that the other people in my world have the same cares, desires, needs, etc as I and if these are not met, they come to the same ends as I. So, I can only assume that 'you' do exist in my world just as 'I' do in yours. Further, I can also know, for sure, that mathematics hold true whether in a dream state or reality. Has anyone seen a round square? If so, please come draw it on the board. So, two plus two is four', whether in a dream or reality. So, I can show that I exist and mathematics holds true, whether in a dream or reality. Therefore, my course of action as "I" does not change, whether in reality or a dream. I can place my feet squarely on these two ideas and stand." My thoughts are if I somehow discovered that 'you' did not exist in my world, but that I was in a dream state, would my actions change? Would I stop eating, stop using the bathroom, or possibly turn to suicide or , dare I say it, turn to an 'immoral' life style of thieving, robbing, killing, etc? For me, the alarm clock would still be set for 7 am the next day, with or without you. How about you?
Scotty in Alaska

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