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The Avatars in the Machine Dreaming As a Simulation of Social Reality

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TheAvatarsintheMachine

DreamingasaSimulationofSocialReality

AnttiRevonsuo,JarnoTuominen&KatjaValli

Theideathatdreamingisasimulationofthewakingworldiscurrentlybecoming

Authors

afarmorewidelysharedandacceptedviewamongdreamresearchers.Several philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists have recently characterized dreamingintermsofvirtualreality,immersivespatiotemporalsimulation,orrealisticandusefulworldsimulation.Thus,theconceptionofdreamingasasimulated worldnowunifiesdefinitionsofthebasicnatureofdreamingwithindreamand consciousnessresearch.Thisnovelconceptofdreaminghasconsequentlyledto theideathatsocialinteractionsindreams,knowntobeauniversalandabundant featureofhumandreamcontent,canbestbecharacterizedasasimulationofhumansocialreality,simulatingthesocialskills,bonds,interactions,andnetworks thatweengageinduringourwakinglives.Yetthistemptingideahasneverbeforebeenformulatedintoaclearandempiricallytestabletheoryofdreaming. HereweshowthatatestableSocialSimulationTheory(SST)ofdreamingcanbe formulated,fromwhichempiricalpredictionscanbederived.Someofthepredictionscangaininitialsupportbyrelyingonalreadyexistingdataintheliterature, butmanymoreremaintobetestedbyfurtherresearch.WearguethattheSST shouldbetestedbydirectlycontrastingitspredictionswiththemajorcompeting theoriesonthenatureandfunctionofdreaming,suchastheContinuityHypothesis(CH)andtheThreatSimulationTheory(TST).Thesethreemajortheories ofdreamingmakedifferingpredictionsastothequalityandthequantityofsocial simulationsindreams.Wewilloutlinethefirststepstowardsatheory-and-hypothesis-drivenresearchprogramindreamresearchthattreatsdreamingasasimulatedworldingeneralandasasocialsimulationinparticular.Byfollowingthis researchprogramitwillbepossibletofindoutwhetherdreamingisarelatively unselectiveandthusprobablynon-functionalsimulationofthewakingworld(CH), asimulationprimarilyspecializedinthesimulationofdangerousandthreatening eventsthatpresentimportantchallengesforoursurvivalandprosperity(TST),or whetheritisasimulationprimarilyspecializedintrainingthesocialskillsand bondsmostimportantforushumansasasocialspecies(SST).Whatevertheevidencefororagainstthespecifictheoriesturnouttobe,inanycasetheconception ofdreamingasasimulatedworldhasalreadyprovedtobeafruitfultheoretical approachtounderstandingthenatureofdreamingandconsciousness.

AnttiRevonsuo

antti.revonsuoꢀ@ꢀutu.fi HögskolaniSkövde Skövde,Sweden Turunyliopisto Turku,Finland

JarnoTuominen

jarno.tuominenꢀ@ꢀutu.fi Turunyliopisto Turku,Finland

KatjaValli

katvalꢀ@ꢀutu.fi Turunyliopisto Turku,Finland HögskolaniSkövde Skövde,Sweden

Commentator

MartinDresler

martin.dreslerꢀ@ꢀdonders.ru.nl RadboudUniversiteitMedicalCenter Nijmegen,Netherlands

Editors

ThomasMetzinger

Keywords

metzingerꢀ@ꢀuni-mainz.de
Alteredstateofconsciousness|Avatar|Consciousness|Continuityhypothesis|

Dreaming|Evolutionary psychology|Inclusivefitness|Kin selection theory| Needtobelong|Practiseandpreparationhypothesis|Reciprocalaltruismtheory|Simulation|Socialbrainhypothesis|Socialmappinghypothesis|Social simulationtheory|Sociometertheory|Strengtheninghypothesis|Thedream self|Theinclusivefitnesstheory|Threatsimulationtheory|Virtualreality|Virtualrealitymetaphor
JohannesGutenberg-Universität Mainz,Germany

JenniferM.Windt

jennifer.windtꢀ@ꢀmonash.edu MonashUniversity Melbourne,Australia

Revonsuo,A.,Tuominen,J.&Valli,K.(2015).TheAvatarsintheMachine-DreamingasaSimulationofSocialReality.

InT.Metzinger&J.M.Windt(Eds).O p e n M I N D :32(T).FrankfurtamMain:MINDGroup.doi:10.15502/9783958570375

1|28

www.open-mind.net

1 Introduction

There may be no Cartesian ghosts residing vergedtowardsamoreunifiedunderstandingof within the machinery of the brain, but still, the basic nature of dreams. A widely shared somethingratherpeculiarisgoingoninthere, conceptualizationofdreamingnowdepictsitas

especiallyduringthedarkesthoursofthenight. thes i m u l a t i o nofwakingreality.Wewillbriefly

Aswesleepandourbodiesceasetointeractbe- describe how this theoretical shift has taken haviourally with the surrounding physical placeandwherewecurrentlyareinthetheoretworld,ourconsciousexperiencesdonotentirely icaldefinitionofdreaming.Thistheoreticaldedisappear.Onthecontrary,duringsleepweof- velopmenthaspavedthewayforunderstanding tenfindourselvesembodiedandimmersedinan thes oc i a lnatureofdreamsintermsofsocial experiential reality, an altered state of con- simulation. sciousnesscalleddreaming. TheDreamSelf— Second,wewillexplorethenatureofsothecharacterwithwhichweidentifyourselves cialdreamsimulationinmoredetail.Inwhat inthedreamworld,andfromwhoseembodied sensecandreamingbetakenasasimulationof perspectivethedreamworldisexperienced—is ourhumans oc i a lreality?Howmuchandwhat whoIaminthedreamworld(Revonsuo2005). typesofsocialperceptionandinteractionoccur
Butwearenotaloneinthisalternative indreams?Thisquestioncanbebrokendown reality—thereareotherapparentlyliving,intel- intoanumberofmoredetailedquestions.We ligentbeingspresent, whoseemtosharethis willtrytoanswersomeofthesequestionsbased realitywithus.Weseeandinteractwithreal- onthealreadyexistingknowledgeandempirical istichumancharactersinourdreams.Theirbe- evidenceaboutthesocialnatureofdreams.Furhaviourandtheirveryexistenceinthedream thermore,wewilltrytoformulatemoreclearly world seem to be autonomous. The dream thequestionsthatcannotyetbeansweredempeoplewhoIencounterwithinthedreamseem piricallyduetothelackofappropriatedata. togoabouttheirownbusiness:Icannotpredict Third, we will review hypotheses that orcontrolwhattheywillsayordo.Yet,they, alreadyaddressthequestionofthesocialnature too,aresomehowproducedbymyowndream- ofdreamsorassignasocialsimulationfunction

  • ingbrain.
  • fordreams.Finally,wewilloutlinesomebasic

Ontheonehand,dreamingisasolipsistic ideasofaSocialSimulationTheory(SST)of experience:whenwedream, wedreamalone, dreamingthatmightoffersomeexplanationsfor andoutsidershavenowayofparticipatingin thesocialnatureofdreams,oratleastmight ourdream.Yetontheotherhand,dreamingis producewell-defined,testableresearchquestions

anintenselys oc i a lexperience,evenifthesocial concerning the possible f u n c t i ons of social

contactsand interactions in thedreamworld dreamsimulations. aremerelyvirtual.Inthispaper,wewillexplore Todescribeandexplainthesocialnature

theideathatdreamingisas i m u l a t e dworld,but of dreams as social simulation, concepts bor-

notonlyasimulationofthep hy s i c a lworld.Itis rowedfromvirtualrealitytechnologymaybe equally or perhaps even more importantly a applied, in this case to the social aspects of simulationofthes oc i a lworld.Wewillproceed dreaming.Oneoftheseconceptsisthenotionof inthefollowingway:

“avatar”:A s i m u l a t e d v i r t u a l h u m a n c ha r ac t er

First,wewillarguethataremarkablecon- whoplaystheroleofacorrespondingrealhuvergence has gradually emerged in theories manwithinavirtualreality.Ifdreamsareviraboutthenatureofdreaming.Thefieldusedto tualrealitiesinthebrain(Revonsuo1995),then beadisunifiedbattlegroundofdirectlyoppos- we ourselves within the dream world are ingviewsonwhatdreamsare,howexactlythe avatars,andweinteractwithotheravatarsinconceptof“dreaming”shouldbedefined,and sidethesimulatedreality.Somehow,thedreamontheproperlevelofdescriptionandexplana- ing brain is capable of creating credible, tionfordreaming.Recently,thefieldhascon- autonomous human simulations out of neural

Revonsuo,A.,Tuominen,J.&Valli,K.(2015).TheAvatarsintheMachine-DreamingasaSimulationofSocialReality.

InT.Metzinger&J.M.Windt(Eds).O p e n M I N D :32(T).FrankfurtamMain:MINDGroup.doi:10.15502/9783958570375

2|28

www.open-mind.net

activities in the sleeping brain. A theory of consciousness. When dreaming is taken seridreamingasasocialsimulationshouldpredict ously,ideasaboutthenatureofconsciousness what kind of avatars are represented in our tendtoconvergeoninternalisttheoriesofcondreams,whattypesofinteractionsweengagein sciousnessthattakeconsciousnessanddreaming withthem,andinparticular,w h yitwouldbe to be varieties of the same internal pheusefultosimulatesuchavatarsandinteractions nomenon, whosemainfunctionistosimulate inourdreams—whatfunctions,ifany,dothey reality.

  • serveforus.
  • Oneoftheearliestattemptstoconceptual-

izebothwakingconsciousnessanddreamingas

2 Consciousnessasreality-modelingand theexpressionsofthesameinternally-activated world-simulation

neuralmechanism, onlydifferentlystimulated, wasputforwardbyLlinás&Paréin1991:
Dreamingisthemostuniversalandmostregularlyoccurring, aswellasaperfectlynatural [C]onsciousness is an intrinsic property andphysiological(asopposedtopathological), arisingfromtheexpressionofexistingdisalteredstateofconsciousness.Thus,anyplaus- positionsofthebraintobeactiveincerible(empiricalorphilosophical)theoryofcon- tainways.Itisaclosekintodreaming, sciousness should also describe and explain where sensory input byconstraining the dreaming as a major state of consciousness. intrinsicfunctionalstatesspecifies,rather Mosttheoriesofconsciousness,however,donot thaninforms,thebrainofthoseproperties considerdreamingatalloratleastdonotdis- ofexternalrealitythatareimportantfor cusstheresultsofdreamresearchinanydetail survival.[…]Thatconsciousnessisgener-

(Revonsuo2006).

atedintrinsicallyisnotdifficulttounder-
Dreamingpresentsaparticularlydifficult standwhenoneconsidersthecompleteness challengeforexternalist,embodied,andenact- of the sensory representations in our

1

ivetypesoftheoriesofconsciousness. Theyall dreams.(1991,p.531) anchortheexistenceandnatureofconsciousnesstosomethingintheworldexternaltothe The argument by Llinás & Paré (1991) was brain,ortosomekindofbrain-worldrelations mostly based on considerationsof the shared that,atleastpartly, resideoutsidethebrain. neurophysiologicalmechanisms(inthethalamoBycontrast,theempiricalevidencefromdream corticalsystem)thatcouldactasthefinalcomresearchshowsthatfull-blown,complexsubject- monpathforbothdreamingandwakingconiveexperiencessimilarwithoridenticaltoex- sciousness.Bindinginformationtogetherwithin periencesduringwakefulness(e.g., Rechtschaf- thissystemintrinsicallygeneratesconsciousness fen&Buchignani1992),regularlyanduniver- (“Itbinds,thereforeIam”,Llinás2001,p.261); sallyhappenduringrapideyemovement(REM) but only during wakefulness is consciousness sleep.Theconsciousexperienceswehaveduring modulatedbysensory-perceptualinformation— dreamingareisolatedfrombehaviouralandper- in this model, wakefulness can be seen as a ceptual interactions with the environment, dream-likestate(Llinás&Ribary1994). whichrefutesanytheorythatstatesthatorgan- Although the idea that dreaming s i m u - ism-environment interaction or other external l a t e swakingconsciousnesswasimplicitinthis relationshipsareconstitutiveoftheexistenceof neuroscientifictheory,Llinás&Paré(1991)did

  • consciousness(Revonsuo2006).
  • not consider the phenomenology of dreaming

Afewtheoriesofconsciousnesshave,how- andconsciousnessinanydetail.Theoreticalapever,takendreamingasacentralstartingpoint proachescharacterizingthenatureofdreaming in their conceptualization and explanation of assimulation,basedonacombinationofphilosophical arguments and empirical facts about

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    2021 BVD ​ Winter Camporee February 12 Winter Weekend is a chance to join in one of the oldest traditions in Boy Scout history – Coming together as a District for Scouting competition. District gatherings provide an opportunity to match skills against others within our district. There will be fun, friendship, and fellowship. This guide is intended to help your unit prepare for the fun and excitement of this year’s Winter Weekend extravaganza. The Scout oath and law will govern the behavior of all participants during this weekend. The principles of leave no trace should be practiced at all times. Coffee and hot cocoa will be provided during the Saturday morning and afternoon activities to any Scout or Scouter that has their own mug or cup (no cups will be provided). You may be asked to answer Leave No Trace questions before the hot beverages are dispensed. All events for Winter Weekend will be based on basic Scouting skills and concepts as taught and used in the Scout to First Class rank advancement section of the handbook. They will also include fun type challenge events that will require effective communication, leadership, and teamwork to successfully complete. Passports will be given to each patrol listing the order of activities to visit. The score for each event will be recorded on the passport. Each patrol must turn in their passport to the Staff as they finish in order to be eligible for any awards. Webelos Scouts are invited to participate in the Winter Weekend events as part of a Scout patrol or their own patrol.