The Avatars in the Machine Dreaming As a Simulation of Social Reality
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The Avatars in the Machine Dreaming as a Simulation of Social Reality Antti Revonsuo, Jarno Tuominen & Katja Valli The idea that dreaming is a simulation of the wa ing world is currently !ecoming Authors a far more widely shared and acce"ted view among dream researchers. Several "hiloso"hers, "sychologists, and neuroscientists have recently characteri$ed Antti Revonsuo dreaming in terms of virtual reality, immersive spatiotem"oral simulation, or real% antti#revonsuo4utu#fi istic and useful world simulation# Thus, the conce"tion of dreaming as a simulated world now unifies definitions of the !asic nature of dreaming within dream and (5gs olan i S 5vde consciousness research# This novel conce"t of dreaming has conse&uently led to S 5vde, Sweden the idea that social interactions in dreams, nown to !e a universal and a!undant Turun ylio"isto feature of human dream content, can !est !e characteri$ed as a simulation of hu% Turku, 6inland man social reality, simulating the social skills, !onds, interactions, and networks that we engage in during our wa ing lives. 'et this tem"ting idea has never !e% Jarno Tuominen fore !een formulated into a clear and em"irically testa!le theory of dreaming# jarno#tuominen4utu#fi Here we show that a testa!le Social Simulation Theory )SST) of dreaming can !e Turun ylio"isto formulated, from which em"irical "redictions can !e derived# Some of the "redic% Turku, 6inland tions can gain initial su""ort !y relying on already e+isting data in the literature, !ut many more remain to !e tested !y further research# ,e argue that the SST Katja Valli should !e tested !y directly contrasting its "redictions with the major com"eting atval4utu#fi theories on the nature and function of dreaming, such as the -ontinuity Hy"o% Turun ylio"isto thesis )-(* and the Threat Simulation Theory )TST*# These three major theories Turku, 6inland of dreaming ma e differing "redictions as to the &uality and the &uantity of social (5gskolan i S 5vde simulations in dreams# ,e will outline the first ste"s towards a theory-and-hy"o% S 5vde, Sweden thesis-driven research "rogram in dream research that treats dreaming as a simu% lated world in general and as a social simulation in "articular# .y following this research "rogram it will !e "ossi!le to find out whether dreaming is a relatively -ommentator unselective and thus "ro!a!ly non-functional simulation of the wa ing world )-(*, a simulation "rimarily s"eciali$ed in the simulation of dangerous and threatening 7artin Dresler events that "resent im"ortant challenges for our survival and "rosperity )TST), or martin#dresler 4donders.ru#nl whether it is a simulation "rimarily s"eciali$ed in training the social s ills and Rad!oud 8niversiteit 7edical -enter !onds most im"ortant for us humans as a social s"ecies )SST*# ,hatever the evid% 2ijmegen, 2etherlands ence for or against the specific theories turn out to !e, in any case the conce"tion of dreaming as a simulated world has already "roved to !e a fruitful theoretical 0ditors a""roach to understanding the nature of dreaming and consciousness. Thomas 7et$inger Keywords met$inger4uni-main$#de Altered state of consciousness / Avatar / -onsciousness / -ontinuity hy"othesis / Johannes 9uten!erg%8niversit:t Dreaming / 0volutionary "sychology / 1nclusive fitness / Kin selection theory / 7ain$, 9ermany 2eed to !elong / 3ractise and "re"aration hy"othesis / Reci"rocal altruism the% ory / Simulation / Social !rain hy"othesis / Social ma""ing hy"othesis / Social simulation theory / Sociometer theory / Strengthening hy"othesis / The dream Jennifer 7# ,indt self / The inclusive fitness theory / Threat simulation theory / Virtual reality / Vir% jennifer#windt4 monash#edu tual reality meta"hor 7onash 8niversity 7el!ourne, Australia Revonsuo, A#, Tuominen, J# & Valli, K# );<=>*# The Avatars in the 7achine % Dreaming as a Simulation of Social Reality# 1n T# 7et$inger & J# 7# ,indt )0ds*# Open MIND: ?;)T*# 6ran furt am 7ain@ 712D 9rou"# doi@ =<#=>><;ABCD?B>D>C<?C> 1 | ;D www#o"en%mind#net 1 Introduction There may be no Cartesian ghosts residing verged towards a more unified understanding of within the machinery of the brain, but still, the basic nature of dreams. A widely shared something rather peculiar is going on in there, conceptuali2ation of dreaming now depicts it as especially during the darkest hours of the night. the simulation of waking reality. *e will briefly As we sleep and our bodies cease to interact be- describe how this theoretical shift has taken haviourally with the surrounding physical place and where we currently are in the theoret- world, our conscious experiences do not entirely ical definition of dreaming. This theoretical de- disappear. On the contrary, during sleep we of- velopment has paved the way for understanding ten find ourselves embodied and immersed in an the social nature of dreams in terms of social experiential reality, an altered state of con- simulation. sciousness called dreaming. The ream !elf" !econd, we will explore the nature of so- the character with which we identify ourselves cial dream simulation in more detail. +n what in the dream world, and from whose embodied sense can dreaming be taken as a simulation of perspective the dream world is experienced—is our human social reality3 4ow much and what who I am in the dream world ($evonsuo %&&'(. types of social perception and interaction occur But we are not alone in this alternative in dreams3 This .uestion can be broken down reality—there are other apparently living, intel- into a number of more detailed .uestions. *e ligent beings present, who seem to share this will try to answer some of these .uestions based reality with us. *e see and interact with real- on the already existing knowledge and empirical istic human characters in our dreams. Their be- evidence about the social nature of dreams. Fur- haviour and their very existence in the dream thermore, we will try to formulate more clearly world seem to be autonomous. The dream the .uestions that cannot yet be answered em- people who + encounter within the dream seem pirically due to the lack of appropriate data. to go about their own business, + cannot predict Third, we will review hypotheses that or control what they will say or do. -et, they, already address the question of the social nature too, are somehow produced by my own dream- of dreams or assign a social simulation function ing brain. for dreams. /inally, we will outline some basic On the one hand, dreaming is a solipsistic ideas of a !ocial !imulation Theory #!!T( of experience, when we dream, we dream alone, dreaming that might offer some explanations for and outsiders have no way of participating in the social nature of dreams, or at least might our dream. -et on the other hand, dreaming is produce well-defined, testable research questions an intensely social experience, even if the social concerning the possible functions of social contacts and interactions in the dream world dream simulations. are merely virtual. In this paper, we will explore To describe and explain the social nature the idea that dreaming is a simulated world, but of dreams as social simulation, concepts bor- not only a simulation of the physical world. +t is rowed from virtual reality technology may be e.ually or perhaps even more importantly a applied, in this case to the social aspects of simulation of the social world. *e will proceed dreaming. One of these concepts is the notion of in the following way, 0avatar”, A simulated virtual human character /irst, we will argue that a remarkable con- who plays the role of a corresponding real hu- vergence has gradually emerged in theories man within a virtual reality. +f dreams are vir- about the nature of dreaming. The field used to tual realities in the brain #$evonsuo 566'(, then be a disunified battleground of directly oppos- we ourselves within the dream world are ing views on what dreams are, how exactly the avatars, and we interact with other avatars in- concept of 0dreaming” should be defined, and side the simulated reality. !omehow, the dream- on the proper level of description and explana- ing brain is capable of creating credible, tion for dreaming. $ecently, the field has con- autonomous human simulations out of neural Revonsuo, A#, Tuominen, J# & Valli, K# );<=>*# The Avatars in the 7achine % Dreaming as a Simulation of Social Reality# 1n T# 7et$inger & J# 7# ,indt )0ds*# Open MIND: ?;)T*# 6ran furt am 7ain@ 712D 9rou"# doi@ =<#=>><;ABCD?B>D>C<?C> 2 | ;D www#o"en%mind#net activities in the sleeping brain. A theory of consciousness. *hen dreaming is taken seri- dreaming as a social simulation should predict ously, ideas about the nature of consciousness what kind of avatars are represented in our tend to converge on internalist theories of con- dreams, what types of interactions we engage in sciousness that take consciousness and dreaming with them, and in particular, why it would be to be varieties of the same internal phe- useful to simulate such avatars and interactions nomenon, whose main function is to simulate in our dreams—what functions, if any, do they reality. serve for us. One of the earliest attempts to conceptual- i2e both waking consciousness and dreaming as 2 Consciousness as reality-modeling and the expressions of the same internally-activated world-simulation neural mechanism, only differently stimulated, was put forward by Llinás & >aré in 5665, reaming is the most universal and most regu- larly occurring, as well as a perfectly natural @CAonsciousness is an intrinsic property and physiological #as opposed to pathological(, arising from the expression of existing dis- altered state of consciousness.