I was just wondering as to what Descartes' ideas of Deja Vu would be? He says that if something exists in dreams it must in real life as well. But what about those rare cases when a completely random event happens and you saw it happen, days, weeks, months, or even years before it takes place. Many times these events are so random that there is no way someone could predict them. For example I remember in 5th grade I dreamt a girl i never talked to in school would give me 10 cents in the middle of class. Three weeks later that girl sat next to me in class, took out her purse and gave me a dime with no explanation for her generosity. Descartes didn't mention anything about Deja Vu but it would be interesting to see what his opinion would have been. Personally I think that he would say Deja Vu is a complex construction/guessing game that the brain creates through real life experiences.
I think that the mind is constantly trying to guess the future in order to keep you a step ahead. Certain things like walking, or moving out of the way of a car are so hard-wired into us that we don't realize our brains predicting future/oncoming events. While we dream, I think that our brains try to evaluate the days events and past experiences and attempts to create a vision of the future. Sometimes we remember these constructions and they come true, making us aware of our brain's attempt, which produces Deja Vu. Other times we remember those dreams subconsciously and when they come true in real life, we get a less intense feeling of Deja Vu. Finally, since our brain makes so many of these constructions, and we tend to forget our dreams, those that dont come true and those that we forget, are evetually lost and never become known to us.
Let's hear what you guys think regarding Deja Vu as it relates to the dream vs. reality theory of Descartes.
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2 comments:
Descartes idea stating that if something exists in dreams it must in real life as well is kind of confusing to me. I believe and disbelieve it in a few ways. Because in a dream, anything can happen. As for reality goes, only the possible can happen. In my opinion deja vu does not necessarily come from a dream. It is more of a mind game that is in our heads. Having the feeling of already experiencing a present event is deja vu. Right after something rememberable or random happens I often think twice about it. Like as if it happened sometime in the past again. Is the mind playing tricks on me?
I think that Robert's thinking of dreaming, evaluating the days, events, and past experiences is very interesting. I do agree with him when he says the brain makes so many constructions that we tend to forget our dream and then they are finally lost.
I just thought up your exact quandary today. I am curious as to how he would conceptualize the evil demon argument within the deja vu context. If this blog is still active and you still have some thoughts on the subject, I would like to chat in detail about this concept; I feel that a comprehensive argument would be a good way to arrive at some theories on the issue.
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