Most of what we have covered so far has dealt with the untrustworthiness of the senses. However, certain philosophers have taken the problem a stage further by asking the question, "Is it possible to tell reality from a dream?"

The basis for this question is simple: when we dream we often believe that what we are experiencing is real. So, how can we be sure that what we are now experiencing is not a dream of some sort?

The 17th century French philosopher René Descartes (1596-1650) most famously asked this question in his Meditations on the First Philosophy . However, the idea itself is not a new one. Many cultures contain stories and belief systems that portray life as a dream. Hinduism, most notably, considers all material existence to be illusory, or "maya", from which we "wake up" when we realise the true reality. Descartes had a similar agenda, though his intention was to establish beyond doubt that we are not deceived in any way - which dreaming would be an example of.

The argument itself is not so easy to refute as you would think. To someone who replies that the argument can be easily refuted by the simple fact that we wake up, it can be pointed out that there are occasions when people seem to have dreamed of doing that. This involves us in what is called an "infinite regress": anything which is mentioned as being an aspect of reality (as opposed to a dream) is said to be part of the content of the dream itself. So, I may dream that I think I am awake; I may dream that I can tell waking from dreaming; and so on.

Descartes' answer to this problem is to try to guarantee knowledge through appeals to God and rational necessity (we shall look at this in more detail later in the course). However, other philosophers have put forward arguments based upon the idea that dreaming and waking up are concepts that are tied together (you cannot have one without the other).

eXistenZ

The idea of never waking up has been used by writers and film makers a number of times. Jacob's Ladder (1990) provides an original twist to this sort of story, and the 1999 film by David Cronenberg, called eXistenZ, uses the modern day equivalent of virtual reality games, with the tag line, "Where does reality stop... and the game begin?"

Exercise

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark says:

O God, I could be bounded in a nut shell and count
myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I
have bad dreams.
(II. ii. 254-6)

Here the idea seems to be that dreams provide some sort of link to - or proof of - the existence of the outside world. Consider to what extent this may be true. Is it possible that you are dreaming right now? What arguments might be used against someone who thought that life is a dream or illusion? As you consider these issues, make a list of arguments for the argument (life may be a dream) and against it (dreams and reality are different and easily distinguished). Which side wins?

Once you have done this, move on to the next section.

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