René Descartes’ dream argument supports his overarching argument for hyperbolic doubt, described in his Meditations on First Philosophy. The dream argument questions one’s perceptions, conscious and unconscious, and how one determines what is true and what is false. He does this by comparing experiences while awake or dreaming. Descartes continues on that since one also cannot tell the difference between what is a dream and what is real life, our perceptions could overall be false, and “assumes dreams are deceptive, first, because they are conscious experiences that are subjectively indistinguishable from standard waking experiences and second, because they involve false beliefs” (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Though the perceptions
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While one is awake he or she has control over his or her decisions he or she may make throughout each experience, but while dreaming, there is no control in the choices made and the dreamer lacks sense of touch. These signs contradict the second premise that one cannot distinguish between experiences, therefore refuting Descartes’ dream argument. René Descartes was born in France in 1596 to a family of mainly doctors and lawyers. As an adolescent, he obtained a solid background of education in the liberal arts, and later received a degree in civil and canon law. After working on different essays and his methods, he started working on the Meditations on First Philosophy in 1639, and Meditations in its entirety, which is composed of six Meditations, was first published in 1641, and a second edition in 1642 (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Descartes is often …show more content…
And because of this, there is no definite way to distinguish between each of the perceptions. Many other philosophers have studied this premise, including John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. Thomas Hobbes believes that the biggest key to distinguishing a dream from waking consciousness is the “absurdity”. “An absence of absurdity in waking life”, describes how one may realize a perception is a dream through a perception that is extremely abnormal, where he or she is positive that is not occurring in real life (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). For example, if one dreamt of talking to and spending time with a dead relative, he/she knows that is impossible, or in Hobbes’ mind, is “absurd” and therefore distinguishing the difference between dreaming and being awake. John Locke also objected Descartes second premise by pointing out pain in a dream versus pain in real life. He asked Descartes to analyze this difference, and claims “we cannot have physical pain in dreams as we do in waking life”, therefore undermining the premise that the difference in consciousness is indistinguishable (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). While Descartes first premise says that experiences in a dream versus reality are generally similar, experiences involve not only abstract perceptions and sensory touch, and the ability to control one’s experiences.
While one is awake he or she has control over his or her decisions he or she may make throughout each experience, but while dreaming, there is no control in the choices made and the dreamer lacks sense of touch. These signs contradict the second premise that one cannot distinguish between experiences, therefore refuting Descartes’ dream argument. René Descartes was born in France in 1596 to a family of mainly doctors and lawyers. As an adolescent, he obtained a solid background of education in the liberal arts, and later received a degree in civil and canon law. After working on different essays and his methods, he started working on the Meditations on First Philosophy in 1639, and Meditations in its entirety, which is composed of six Meditations, was first published in 1641, and a second edition in 1642 (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Descartes is often …show more content…
And because of this, there is no definite way to distinguish between each of the perceptions. Many other philosophers have studied this premise, including John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. Thomas Hobbes believes that the biggest key to distinguishing a dream from waking consciousness is the “absurdity”. “An absence of absurdity in waking life”, describes how one may realize a perception is a dream through a perception that is extremely abnormal, where he or she is positive that is not occurring in real life (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). For example, if one dreamt of talking to and spending time with a dead relative, he/she knows that is impossible, or in Hobbes’ mind, is “absurd” and therefore distinguishing the difference between dreaming and being awake. John Locke also objected Descartes second premise by pointing out pain in a dream versus pain in real life. He asked Descartes to analyze this difference, and claims “we cannot have physical pain in dreams as we do in waking life”, therefore undermining the premise that the difference in consciousness is indistinguishable (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). While Descartes first premise says that experiences in a dream versus reality are generally similar, experiences involve not only abstract perceptions and sensory touch, and the ability to control one’s experiences.