Dreaming Consciousness: More Than a Bit Player in the Search for Answers to the Mind/Body Problem

A b st r a c t — What has not yet come clearly into focus in the current exploration of the mind/body problem is how the unique features of dre a m ing cons c i o u s n ess might contribute to the ong o ing dialogue. Following a brief hist o r ical pe rs pe c t i ve, a th e o ry of dre a m ing as no c t u rnal social vigilance is p res e n t ed that takes into account both the genetic and social impe r a t i ves th a t s h a pe the dream. The unique features of the dream are re v i e w ed in the ligh t of this approach. Org a n i z ed outside the space, time and causality frame of w a k ing th o u ght, the dream takes on a presentational fo rm and dis p lays as m e t a p h o r ical visual imagery the impact of recent feeling res i d u es, their connection to the past, and their imp l ications for current and future behavior. The genetic impe r a t i ve makes its presence felt th ro u gh the in t r in s ic honest y of th ese no c t u rnal confrontations, their concern wi th how genuinely connected we are wi th our past and wi th our way of re la t ing to oth e rs. Thro u gh both its biolo g ical and social determ inants, the ultimate concern of dre a m ing is wi th the unity of the spe c i es and its surv i v a l .