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Dream Consciousness pp 51–79Cite as

Lecture III: Philosophy

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Part of the book series: Vienna Circle Institute Library ((VCIL,volume 3))

Abstract

Lecture III – PHILOSOPHY suggests that dual aspect monism is superior to dualism in that it regards mind and brain to be mutually dependent upon and causal of each other rather than merely parallel or somehow independent qualities. This integrative philosophy is used as the conceptual basis for a new theory of consciousness which holds that consciousness is the subjective awareness of a virtual reality model of the world operating in both waking and sleep. In REM sleep dreaming, that model is revealed to be intrinsic, disinhibited and automatic; in waking (when it is inhibited but not extinguished) it serves as a predictor of experience. In waking, experience is encoded as memory which then updates the intrinsic, virtual reality model revealed in REM. The harmonious echoes of Immanuel Kant and Herrmann von Helmholtz are heard in this theory as well as its discord with René Descartes, John Locke, and Sigmund Freud.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    J. Allan Hobson

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  1. J. Allan Hobson
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Correspondence to J. Allan Hobson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard Medical School, Salem, New Hampshire, USA

    Nicholas Tranquillo

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Hobson, J.A. (2014). Lecture III: Philosophy. In: Tranquillo, N. (eds) Dream Consciousness. Vienna Circle Institute Library, vol 3. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07296-8_4

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