On 8/4/2013 8:17 PM, Dan Asimov wrote:
That's not what I meant. What I meant by that is: For the definition of consciousness that interests me (conscious awareness, or simply put, experiences), a conscious experience is whatever it is -- irrespective of the extent that it reflects reality.
This has nothing to do with the concept of a self.
To be clear(er): If you are having a dream, you are having consciousness that simply is what it is. In that respect, the dream is part of absolute reality, just as are any perceptions from the five senses or perceptions originating in one's own mind.
(The use of "you" and "one" is to avoid the complications that arise when the self is omitted from such a discussion.)
Your brain is making up a model of reality all the time and filling in and predicting it based on perception and memory. Your 'self' is just part of that model. When you're asleep and receiving little or no perceptive input, your brain just runs "open-loop" and creates a model with no anchor to the world. At leas no immediate anchor. I think you have to have learned about the world in order to dream about it. Brent