Is Reality a Dream?

In Meditations on First Philosophy, Rene Descartes argues that senses are unreliable.Therefore, any idea that is based on senses should be questioned. He uses the DreamArgument to prove that senses are unreliable in development of ideas (Willet 1). In theDream Argument, Descartes argues that he often experiences sensations that are similar to theones that he […]

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In Meditations on First Philosophy, Rene Descartes argues that senses are unreliable.
Therefore, any idea that is based on senses should be questioned. He uses the Dream
Argument to prove that senses are unreliable in development of ideas (Willet 1). In the
Dream Argument, Descartes argues that he often experiences sensations that are similar to the
ones that he experiences while awake. He writes that “On many occasions I have in sleep
been deceived by similar illusions, and in dwelling carefully on this reflection I see so
manifestly that there are no certain indications by which we may clearly distinguish
wakefulness from sleep that I am lost in astonishment” (Descartes, Haldane & Ross 1). Since
he experiences similar sensations when awake as well as when dreaming, Descartes argues
that it is difficult to know when is dreaming and when one is awake. According to Descartes,
reality could as well be a dream. In this paper I will argue that, unlike the conclusions that
Descartes made, reality is not a dream.
Contrary to the argument by Descartes, there are differences between waking and
dreaming experiences. First, the level of control over the experience in the two states differ.
When one is awake, they have control over their experiences. For instance, one may run away
from a dangerous animal. However, in dreams, one does not have similar control. Regardless
of the experiences that one is going through, they never consciously react to the experience
the way they normally do when awake.

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Another difference between waking and dreaming experiences is that they have
different levels of consciousness. For instance, when one is cut by a sharp object when
awake, they feel the pain. However, when one is dreaming, a similar cut may not result in
them feeling pain as they would when awake. These differences in waking and dreaming
experiences show that reality is not a dream. Apart from the level of control in the two
experiences being different, the experiences also have different perceptions.

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Works Cited

Descartes, René, Elizabeth Sanderson Haldane, and George Robert Thomson Ross. The
philosophical works of Descartes: rendered into English. Vol. 1. The University
Press, 1911.
Willett, Bill. “Descartes’ Dream.” (2019).

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