Rene Descartes argues that the experience of dreaming is indistinguishable from reality, that is, even when awake, one cannot tell whether or not one is dreaming as any course of experience one has when awake can also be had while dreaming (Descartes 13).
In this paper, I will argue that the experience of dreaming can be distinguished from that of being awake as often, there is lack of a sense of control in a dream, which is present when one is awake. For example, x experiences anxiety provoking thoughts, and decides to channelize her energy into cooking to avoid these negative thoughts. There is agency over one’s actions to change the situation. X also experiences a dream about being chased by a dragon but is not able to stop herself from having this negative experience and wakes up with a disturbed state of mind. There is a feeling of helplessness where one cannot stop themselves from experiencing something within a dream, that is absent when one is awake and this distinguishes dreams from reality.
One might respond by saying that in a lucid dream, the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming and there is a sense of control present in the dream, making it indistinct from the reality.
I respond by saying that in case of lucid dreams, the fact that one is aware that they’re dreaming signifies that one is distinguishing the state of dreaming from that of being awake, which wouldn’t be possible if they couldn’t decipher this difference.
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