Chinese philosopher Zhuang Zhou once dreamed he was a butterfly. When he woke, he observed, “Am I a man who dreamed he was a butterfly or a butterfly who dreams it is a man?” And so, the epistemological question is this: how do we know that reality is not a dream?
I’m going to offer this response: reality is not riddled with continuity errors, but dreams are. For example, the other day I dreamed I was swimming in a pool when I saw a battery on the bottom of the pool. I reached down and grabbed it. But when I pulled it out, it had become a pair of scissors. Classic continuity error. If that happens to you, you’re dreaming. By contrast, if your reality evinces enduring stability and continuity, you’re likely awake.
Enduring philosophical problem solved!
Next question?
