How bizarre? A pluralist approach to dream content.
Consciousness and Cognition July 1, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2018.03.009 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Double-blind Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key points | Argues that dream content is best understood as a spectrum from bizarre and incoherent to wake-like and mundane, and that both extremes merit attention from philosophers of mind and cognitive scientists. |
Abstract
Are dreams bizarre, nonsensical experiences or real-world simulations? I introduce a pluralist approach to dream content that highlights the philosophical and empirical implications of treating dreaming as a highly varied experience that can be anywhere on a spectrum from truly bizarre and incoherent to wake-like and mundane. Here I discuss several explanations for why theorists disagree on whether dreams should be defined as primarily bizarre or convincing, real-world simulations. Rating scales can underestimate or overestimate bizarreness depending on the variables of the scale and interpretation of contextual factors. Although double blind analysis of dream reports is assumed to be the most accurate method of quantifying dream bizarreness, contextual factors can only be clarified by the dreamer themselves, since only they can judge whether an event would be bizarre in their own lives, however the dreamer might find elements bizarre after waking that they did not find unusual during the dream. Dreams can at times be so bizarre and incoherent that that they are difficult or impossible to report accurately, mundane and indistinguishable from waking life or anything in-between. Both bizarre and mundane dreams should be of great interest to philosophers of mind and cognitive scientists.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dreaming: a conceptual framework for philosophy of mind and empirical research | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Metaphor and hyperassociativity: the imagination mechanisms behind emotion assimilation in sleep and dreaming | 2015 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Varieties of Lucid Dreaming Experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Experimental Research on Dreaming: State of the Art and Neuropsychoanalytic Perspectives | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Neurobiology of Consciousness: Lucid Dreaming Wakes Up | 2009 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 13
- Awareness in the void: a micro-phenomenological exploration of conscious dreamless sleep Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences August 3, 2021
- Bizarreness of Lucid and Non-lucid Dream: Effects of Metacognition. Frontiers in Psychology 2019
- Enactive or inactive? Cranially envatted dream experience and the extended conscious mind Philosophical Explorations May 4, 2018
- How to operationalise consciousness Australian Journal of Psychology November 15, 2019
- Electrophysiological (EEG) microstates during dream‐like bizarre experiences in a naturalistic scenario using immersive virtual reality European Journal of Neuroscience September 11, 2024
and 8 more in the library
Cites 27
- Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Sleep September 1, 2009
- Consciousness, dreams and virtual realities Philosophical Psychology 1995
- Testing the involvement of the prefrontal cortex in lucid dreaming: A tDCS study Consciousness and Cognition September 8, 2013
- Why are dreams interesting for philosophers? The example of minimal phenomenal selfhood, plus an agenda for future research1 Frontiers in Psychology 2013
- Varieties of Lucid Dreaming Experience Advances in Consciousness Research February 15, 2000
and 22 more in the library