tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post2338143373891706174..comments2024-03-25T11:49:21.281-07:00Comments on The Splintered Mind: How Much Should You Care about How You Feel in Your Dreams?Eric Schwitzgebelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11541402189204286449noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-3751558320736323602012-05-05T18:34:41.882-07:002012-05-05T18:34:41.882-07:00We value dreams and waking life differently. We a...We value dreams and waking life differently. We also value ideas and direct experiences differently. Would you trade a profound informative dream for a boring day that the office? What about a profound religious experience? Dreams can inform waking life in profound ways.... so that we recast our lives to conforms to a realization in our dreams. <br /><br />We are driven by deep representations about value. We value the rare and profound, and those are not often ordinary experiences, and may be hallucinations and dreams.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01709871637274358572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-38266630525515792512012-04-30T08:00:12.220-07:002012-04-30T08:00:12.220-07:00Yes, but very few people accept Dennett's 1976...Yes, but very few people accept Dennett's 1976 view on this. You might also check out Norman Malcolm's 1959 book on Dreaming. I agree that if Dennett and Malcolm are right, that completely recasts the arguments in this post.Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11541402189204286449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-91785988203120542172012-04-30T06:50:34.730-07:002012-04-30T06:50:34.730-07:00Dennett's arguments in "Are dreams experi...Dennett's arguments in "Are dreams experiences?" (his answer: no) seem interestingly relevant to this question. If it turns out that we don't experience anything at all in dreams, then it'll also turn out that we don't experience (inter alia) pain or pleasure, and then there wouldn't be much for the psychological hedonist to get worked up about. <br /><br />Wonder if that could be worth considering. Though I also wonder whether anyone finds those arguments compelling...<br /><br />(The ref is Dennett, D. C. (1976). Are dreams experiences? The Philosophical Review, 85(2), 151–171.)Chaz Firestonenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-44707780972626897662012-04-19T20:08:43.107-07:002012-04-19T20:08:43.107-07:00Mike: Funny, and also a very good point!Mike: Funny, and also a very good point!Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11541402189204286449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-89279390154126540612012-04-18T10:57:43.546-07:002012-04-18T10:57:43.546-07:00When you are told that you will succeed at somethi...When you are told that you will succeed at something 'in your dreams', you are supposed to be disappointed.Mike Jacovidesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-89159724927806864422012-04-18T09:58:24.146-07:002012-04-18T09:58:24.146-07:00@ Pete: LOL!
@ John: I think that all fits well w...@ Pete: LOL!<br /><br />@ John: I think that all fits well with the content of the post.<br /><br />@ Gabe: Yes! Actually, Stephen White reminded me personal identity issues were the main focus of our conversation. That's a very interesting related issue. I also agree that defeatism about improving dreams may be playing some role. But if the hedonic quality of dreams really is highly important, it would seem to be irrational to give in so quickly and with so little evidence to defeatism.Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11541402189204286449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-948816114834331782012-04-18T00:14:45.204-07:002012-04-18T00:14:45.204-07:00It may depend on an agents view of personal identi...It may depend on an agents view of personal identity. If, for example, someone is a Lockean memory theorist, they might not see the person dreaming as themselves, as while dreaming we do not share enough of our mental lives with the waking person. This would reduce the motivation we have to improve the quality of the dreamers dreams.<br />The lack of interest in improving our dreams may also simply be due to our lack of knowledge as to how much it is possible for us to improve our dreams. If we don't think it possible to act so as to improve our dreams, we are likely to reduce the interest we might have in doing so.Gabe Duprenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-40120504623675167742012-04-17T21:33:48.445-07:002012-04-17T21:33:48.445-07:00More than enjoying my dreams I should think their ...More than enjoying my dreams I should think their value consists largely in what they tell me about my waking life. Do I live out my fantasies at night? My punishments? Though I personally do not remember what I've been through during my non-waking hours, alas, I am inclined to think they have their own significance within my existence, and I daren't mess with them but behold them. Unless I'm flying or breathing underwater, in which case, let 'er ride!John Coxnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-84786419188985906012012-04-17T16:58:31.462-07:002012-04-17T16:58:31.462-07:00Maybe there are millions of lucid-dreaming normati...Maybe there are millions of lucid-dreaming normative-hedonists out there, and you simply are unaware of them given their lack of motive for announcing their accomplishments to the waking world.<br /><br />Sweet dreams, Eric!Pete Mandikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10952230864825600992noreply@blogger.com