“The Role of Dreams in the Evolution of the Human Mind”

While many of the posts in this blog have dealt with understanding the symbolism in dreams, there are many skeptics who think that dreams are essentially random images from brain-activation during sleep. This eighteen page article is a good summary of how dreams may have developed from an evolutionary viewpoint…

The Role of Dreams in the Evolution of the Human Mind
Michael S. Franklin
Michael J. Zyphur

Abstract: This paper presents an evolutionary argument for the role of dreams in the development of human cognitive processes. While a theory by Revonsuo (2000) proposes that dreams allow for threat rehearsal and therefore provide an evolutionary advantage, the goal of this paper is to extend this argument by commenting on other fitness-enhancing aspects of dreams. Rather than a simple threat rehearsal mechanism, it is argued that dreams reflect a more general virtual rehearsal mechanism that is likely to play an important role in the development of human cognitive capacities. This paper draws on current work in cognitive neuroscience and philosophy of mind in developing the argument.

Evolutionary Psychology
human-nature.com/ep – 2005. 3: 59-78

(Link to Full article)

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