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Yauch Contemplates - Why Do We Dream?

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Ennvon
Dreamer
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2019 8:58 pm
Character Name(s): Yauch

Yauch Contemplates - Why Do We Dream?

Post by Ennvon »

For what purpose does the dream exist?

This question, which one might assume would be relevant only to philosophers and scholars, has been at the forefront of numerous conflicts the consequences of which have had an impact on dreamers of all kinds.

Before I begin, I should perhaps first address the solipsists, those who believe they are the only dreamer to exist. This is an idea on which no consensus can be reached, as every individual can, on even grounds, assert that they are the only dreamer that really exists. The result of this fact is that all debate or discussion about solipsism is nothing but claptrap. As such, within this writing I will operate on the assumption that all dreamers are real, sentient individuals.

In order to make progress on search for the purpose of the dream, I believe one useful thing we can do is ask the tangential question of why we, as particulars, find ourselves in the dream? After all, there are a countless number of shards, many of which contain a countless number of souls, 99.99% of which do not dream.

This question has two primary angles from which it can be approached. The first is one in the nature of metaphysics, or divinity, though I believe both words are synonymous in this context. This approach would be phrased most bluntly as, “For what grand reason do we dream?”

I would caution anyone against a purely ontological approach to this question. Looking for that one far off divine event to which all creation moves, while certainly noble in its sentiment, often leads to a rather hollow orthodoxy in the present.

I would also note that this particular question may be almost identical to the initial question posed in this contemplation, as the purpose of the dream could very well be one in the same as the grand reason for which we ourselves dream.

As such, while I do not condemn anyone who seeks an answer to a question of this manner, as I myself am doing so in this contemplation, I do not believe it is the most productive approach towards finding an answer.

Thus, we come to the second angle from which to approach this question, and that is as an empiricist. This approach might sound something like, “Is there a personality trait which the dream selects for?” or, “Is there a special quality of the soul of a dreamer that differs from those who do not dream?”

With this approach, we can conduct studies to verify claims made and hope to discover the selective mechanism used by the dream. Learning what that selective mechanism is will provide insight into the purpose of the dreams existence.

It is, of course, always possible that we will not be able to find the selective mechanism. It may be something that we exists beyond the realm of our experience, though this result in itself also provides an insight.

I should lastly mention the possibility of denying the question of the purpose of the dream as a whole. Of insisting that the dream has no purpose, and is thus a blank slate.

While this is entirely possible, I would alert anyone against conceptualizing this as a vain purposelessness. It would rather be more conducive to enjoying the dream to formulate this purposelessness as that of music, art, or dance. These are all things which have value of themselves, and do not need purpose to justify them.

I would love for anybody interested in these questions to speak with me whenever they get a chance. I feel that arriving at a satisfactory answer, or being taught humility by our inability to find one, may help ease the current tensions between factions.
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