Dreams I'll Never See
I had received an email commenting on my earlier posting. I would rather post my response to the blog, however, thanks for your comments. My post was an opening salvo, getting my feet wet with the first class discussion/blog. I agree that getting down to the brass tacks is the meat of philosophy. I find enjoyment in the speculation on abstract thoughts. Sometimes in tangential thinking we find new ways that are relevant and practical to our everyday life. I do emphasize ‘relevant and practical’, I search for meaning in the practical use of philosophy as it applies to my everyday life. As far as whether dreams are reality and reality is a dream, a fun and interesting turn of phrase that gets one thinking. How do you define ‘dream’? Does Descartes even attempt to define what he means by a dream? In scientific terms it is an active brain function that is measurable during REM sleep. Dream analysis has been used in psychology as a way to understand neurosis. Some see messages in dreams. Some define a dream as what one wishes they will one day do. Descartes lived in a different time, he did not have the tools of science. He had been in a time still under threat of the inquisition and supreme church rule, albeit reformation was under way. Descartes made some pretty bold steps to free the mind from the grip of church doctrine and open the door to objective thought and reason. If by dream you mean the illusions that we live within that are inevitable with limited objective knowledge and our personal filter of perception, now there is some real meat to talk about. This is why relativism is such an important concept to discuss. If opinion is seen as just as valid as objective knowledge then the veneer of illusion becomes plywood. If enough deception is painted as truth the plywood/illusion is built into sturdy homes where people feel safe to believe in and live within. I believe Descartes may have been speaking to illusions of what is real when he spoke of dreams. If we all lived in his day we would be heavily influenced by the superstitions of the church. If a veneer of illusion was peeled back and say someone like Copernicus speculated that the Earth was not the center of the universe and Galileo saw the moons of Jupiter, well blasphemy! Descartes saw the truth in these discoveries and wanted to peel away all those veneers of illusion, albeit a very tuff proposition for anyone.
Another view is that "dreams are merely the brain's reaction to random biological processes that occur during sleep."
http://www.here-be-dreams.com/psychology/activation.html
I would have to believe that Descartes was refering to dreams that occur during REM sleep or a non-waking state. What I do agree with you on is the need to understand Descarte's world in order to understand his thoughts. He did live in a different time and that had an affect on him.