There was a good (and very long) article in National Geographic recently about sleep: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/08/science-of-sleep/ Might be way more than you wanted to get...
Dreaming is a by-product of the brain sorting through its experiences of the day, and converting short-term memories into long-term memories...
Dreaming is a by-product of the brain sorting through its experiences of the day, and converting short-term memories into long-term memories (https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/why-do-we-dream.htm). It's absolutely not a conscious experience by definition: the brain dreams only when it's asleep. It might imagine or visualise while it's awake, but dreaming is a by-product of sleep.
This feels like much more of a science question ("Why do we dream?") or a general discussion ("Why do you enjoy dreaming?") than a question about philosophy.
Or am I missing something?
Also... how do we enjoy dreaming? If we're asleep during the process, then how can we feel an emotion about it?
Is there an aspect(s) of the conscious experience that we are not automatically aware of, or that our culture suppresses?
What? I really am lost. If it's part of our conscious experience, then we have to be aware of it, by definition.
I have no idea what "lucid dreaming" is. I've seen and heard the phrase, but it's about as meaningful to me as "spiritual energy" or "anti-time". I simply don't know what real-world things or...
how would you square away the concept of lucid dreaming?
I have no idea what "lucid dreaming" is. I've seen and heard the phrase, but it's about as meaningful to me as "spiritual energy" or "anti-time". I simply don't know what real-world things or events these phrases represent. My best guess would be that "lucid dreaming" is guided imagining.
Some definitions of "consciousness" include awake as an element, but not necessarily - being aware is the most common thread I see.
But I'm not "aware" when I'm dreaming. I don't know I'm dreaming when I'm dreaming. I'm not aware of me. I don't know I've been dreaming until after the fact.
This is either science or metaphysics/paranormal, I don't see how it's philosophy.
See, that hits on a fascinating point for me. Does the enjoyment come from during the dream or is it just a fleeting feeling that comes when reflecting back on said dream when awake? Obviously we...
Also... how do we enjoy dreaming? If we're asleep during the process, then how can we feel an emotion about it?
See, that hits on a fascinating point for me.
Does the enjoyment come from during the dream or is it just a fleeting feeling that comes when reflecting back on said dream when awake?
Obviously we feel fear as a result of having a nightmare, but does that fear exist before we wake up? or is it only present when we regain consciousness?
Does it matter? And I'm still missing the link to philosophy. To me, your questions are all about neuroscience, even if they haven't been answered by neuroscientists yet.
Does it matter?
And I'm still missing the link to philosophy. To me, your questions are all about neuroscience, even if they haven't been answered by neuroscientists yet.
There is a lot of philosophy involved in the study of neuroscience and visa versa. Neurophilosophy is literally a field of study. You should not be narrowing your view on the subject so much, not...
There is a lot of philosophy involved in the study of neuroscience and visa versa.
Neurophilosophy is literally a field of study.
You should not be narrowing your view on the subject so much, not all of philosophy is asking existential
questions and reading Nietzsche. The sciences overlap quite a bit and in that overlap is often the most interesting discussions.
This is a really great explanation of neurophilosophy by Patricia Churchland (famous analytical philosopher).
Interesting. It still feels like neuroscience to me. I think I'm too reductionist and materialist to play this game; I don't understand the rules or the playing field.
This is a really great explanation of neurophilosophy by Patricia Churchland (famous analytical philosopher).
Interesting. It still feels like neuroscience to me. I think I'm too reductionist and materialist to play this game; I don't understand the rules or the playing field.
Okay, so this is not something I normally talk about, but I do not enjoy dreaming. I often stay up until really late, ruining my sleep and leaving myself exhausted, just to avoid going to sleep,...
Okay, so this is not something I normally talk about, but I do not enjoy dreaming.
I often stay up until really late, ruining my sleep and leaving myself exhausted, just to avoid going to sleep, because dreaming is so traumatic for me.
I don't like dreaming either! Until I was in my late 20s, I pretty much had nightmares every night. If not an actual nightmare, I just had pretty.. unpleasant dreams. Lots of waking up in the...
I don't like dreaming either! Until I was in my late 20s, I pretty much had nightmares every night. If not an actual nightmare, I just had pretty.. unpleasant dreams. Lots of waking up in the morning feeling very uncomfortable, almost like I had a bad interaction with a person.
Also I went through a long period when I was a teenager where I would just have these dreams where I was in this gross house and they felt like I was completely awake, until they would go very weird and scary. And I would just dream myself into that exact same house every night and I hated it.
To this day, I'm not sure I've ever had an actively pleasant dream. If I travel somewhere, I'll take my chances with malaria, because there's no way I'm taking those pills that cause vivid dreams!
I wonder if there have been any studies on recurring dreams, or more specifically, recurring settings in dreams. I don't remember my dreams very much these days, but back when I did, I would often...
I wonder if there have been any studies on recurring dreams, or more specifically, recurring settings in dreams. I don't remember my dreams very much these days, but back when I did, I would often dream of the same place, a big mansion with dozens of rooms. And many of them had a sense familiarity to them. Usually dreams of that place were of me trying (and failing) to escape.
Also, what pills are you referring to? I wouldn't be opposed to taking a drug that would help me remember and/or experience dreams more vividly. Even though I know it's just something my brain created, I kind of want to return to that mansion and learn more about it.
sorry this is late, haven't been on for a couple days. If you're travelling somewhere with high rates of malaria for an extended time, you'll sometimes be prescribed an antimalarial pill, like...
sorry this is late, haven't been on for a couple days.
If you're travelling somewhere with high rates of malaria for an extended time, you'll sometimes be prescribed an antimalarial pill, like Mefloquine (brand name Larium in the states I think?) and they cause people to have really vivid dreams!
There was a good (and very long) article in National Geographic recently about sleep: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/08/science-of-sleep/
Might be way more than you wanted to get into, but it's an interesting read and has a pretty sizeable section about dreaming.
Dreaming is a by-product of the brain sorting through its experiences of the day, and converting short-term memories into long-term memories (https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/why-do-we-dream.htm). It's absolutely not a conscious experience by definition: the brain dreams only when it's asleep. It might imagine or visualise while it's awake, but dreaming is a by-product of sleep.
This feels like much more of a science question ("Why do we dream?") or a general discussion ("Why do you enjoy dreaming?") than a question about philosophy.
Or am I missing something?
Also... how do we enjoy dreaming? If we're asleep during the process, then how can we feel an emotion about it?
What? I really am lost. If it's part of our conscious experience, then we have to be aware of it, by definition.
I have no idea what "lucid dreaming" is. I've seen and heard the phrase, but it's about as meaningful to me as "spiritual energy" or "anti-time". I simply don't know what real-world things or events these phrases represent. My best guess would be that "lucid dreaming" is guided imagining.
But I'm not "aware" when I'm dreaming. I don't know I'm dreaming when I'm dreaming. I'm not aware of me. I don't know I've been dreaming until after the fact.
This is either science or metaphysics/paranormal, I don't see how it's philosophy.
No. Sorry.
See, that hits on a fascinating point for me.
Does the enjoyment come from during the dream or is it just a fleeting feeling that comes when reflecting back on said dream when awake?
Obviously we feel fear as a result of having a nightmare, but does that fear exist before we wake up? or is it only present when we regain consciousness?
Does it matter?
And I'm still missing the link to philosophy. To me, your questions are all about neuroscience, even if they haven't been answered by neuroscientists yet.
There is a lot of philosophy involved in the study of neuroscience and visa versa.
Neurophilosophy is literally a field of study.
You should not be narrowing your view on the subject so much, not all of philosophy is asking existential
questions and reading Nietzsche. The sciences overlap quite a bit and in that overlap is often the most interesting discussions.
This is a really great explanation of neurophilosophy by Patricia Churchland (famous analytical philosopher).
Interesting. It still feels like neuroscience to me. I think I'm too reductionist and materialist to play this game; I don't understand the rules or the playing field.
Okay, so this is not something I normally talk about, but I do not enjoy dreaming.
I often stay up until really late, ruining my sleep and leaving myself exhausted, just to avoid going to sleep, because dreaming is so traumatic for me.
I don't like dreaming either! Until I was in my late 20s, I pretty much had nightmares every night. If not an actual nightmare, I just had pretty.. unpleasant dreams. Lots of waking up in the morning feeling very uncomfortable, almost like I had a bad interaction with a person.
Also I went through a long period when I was a teenager where I would just have these dreams where I was in this gross house and they felt like I was completely awake, until they would go very weird and scary. And I would just dream myself into that exact same house every night and I hated it.
To this day, I'm not sure I've ever had an actively pleasant dream. If I travel somewhere, I'll take my chances with malaria, because there's no way I'm taking those pills that cause vivid dreams!
I wonder if there have been any studies on recurring dreams, or more specifically, recurring settings in dreams. I don't remember my dreams very much these days, but back when I did, I would often dream of the same place, a big mansion with dozens of rooms. And many of them had a sense familiarity to them. Usually dreams of that place were of me trying (and failing) to escape.
Also, what pills are you referring to? I wouldn't be opposed to taking a drug that would help me remember and/or experience dreams more vividly. Even though I know it's just something my brain created, I kind of want to return to that mansion and learn more about it.
sorry this is late, haven't been on for a couple days.
If you're travelling somewhere with high rates of malaria for an extended time, you'll sometimes be prescribed an antimalarial pill, like Mefloquine (brand name Larium in the states I think?) and they cause people to have really vivid dreams!