Dream Characters

In lucid dreams, dream characters sometimes give the impression of having consciousness of their own. They speak and behave logically, perform amazing cognitive feats and express in their behavior distinct purposes and feelings, but do they have a consciousness of their own? Probably many scientists will not hesitate to answer the question with 'no' or to reject it outright as being meaningless. To avoid rash judgments, we wish to give a precise explication of the question by distinguishing it from other interpretations. 

In stating that dream characters have consciousness of their own, we do not mean that these are independent beings in the way that occultists and spiritualists think of ghosts or spirits. Rather it is our view that all dream characters, including the dream ego, arise in the brain of the dreamer. This argument is supported by the working hypothesis of psychophysical parallelism or isomorphism. Whereas sensory inputs tend to dominate in the contents and the organization of the perceptual world in the waking state, central brain processes are largely responsible for the events of the dream world. One characteristic of these brain processes is that they are related to cognitive and affective memory processes. Whether certain brain processes become conscious is thought to depend on the dynamic characteristics of these processes of which we know very little to date. It is then theoretically possible that more than one consciousness can develop in a single brain. 

First of all, however, we wish to differentiate between various meanings of the term 'consciousness'. If someone says that a person has lost consciousness (e.g., as the result of a blow on the head with a hammer), then we mean that this person's entire phenomenal (mental) world or field has disappeared. Experiments with split-brain patients seem to show that in such patients each brain hemisphere can probably be related to consciousness or phenomenal field. However, each consciousness is strictly divided from the other, if direct dynamic connections no longer exist between the two hemispheres.

It is possible though, for people to experience a double consciousness, i.e., a double phenomenal world. This sometimes occurs, for example, on waking from a dream. At such times it is possible to experience a dream ego in the dream world as well as a waking ego which is lying in bed. This occurrence is due to an overlapping of two phenomenal fields - the dream world and the perceptual waking world. The essential difference between these two cases is that the existence of a double consciousness in a split-brain patient can only be determined by an examination of the patient's statements, actions, and manifestations of expression, whereas in the latter case, the subject experiences a double consciousness directly.

Contrary to these two definitions, what we understand here by consciousness is not a phenomenal field, but facts in the phenomenal world. Consciousness can then be defined as the participation of a phenomenal 'I' in phenomenal objects or events from its own position, not only by its perception, but also by its imagination, memory, and thought. By this definition the dream ego has a consciousness in lucid dream. It observes the dream scenery from its own position, displays good powers of recollection and can think rationally. In earlier experiments we described the cognitive tasks which can be accomplished by the dream ego. Here, however, we are interested in whether another dream character which meets the dream ego has a consciousness in the sense just described. This question cannot be answered definitively because metaphysical implications are involved. It can, however, be researched empirically to a certain degree with the aid of phenomenological and psychophysical experiments. Following a discussion of phenomenological results, suggestions are given for further psychophysiological experiments which are pertinent to this problem.

Our aim was to establish whether dream characters can or cannot show accomplishments which support or disprove the hypothesis that they see and act in the dream scenery from their own observer perspective, that they have their own access to the memory, and that they appear capable of creative and independent thought. To this end, experienced lucid dreamers were instructed to set their dream characters various tasks while lucid dreaming.

Paul Tholey was a German Gestalt psychologist, and a professor of psychology and sports science at the University of Frankfurt and the Technical University of Braunschweig. Tholey started the study of oneirology in an attempt to prove that dreams occur in colour. Given the unreliability of dream memories and following the critical realism approach, he used lucid dreaming as an epistemological tool for investigating dreams, in a similar fashion to Stephen LaBerge. He devised the reflection technique for inducing lucid dreams, consisting in continuously suspecting waking life to be a dream, in the hope that such a habit would manifest itself during dreams. Tholey's research included the examination of the cognitive abilities of dreamers, as well as the cognitive abilities of dream figures. In the latter study, nine trained lucid dreamers were directed to set other dream figures arithmetic and verbal tasks during lucid dreaming. Dream figures who agreed to perform the tasks proved more successful in verbal than in arithmetic tasks.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/o6_lIeSR55w