The Role of Dreams in the Evolution of the Human Mind

The Role of Dreams in the Evolution of the Human Mind

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...

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Main Authors: Michael S. Franklin, Michael J. Zyphur
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2005-01-01
Series:Evolutionary Psychology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/147470490500300106
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spelling doaj-66c63c726503485386242eba2677d8622020-11-25T03:40:52ZengSAGE PublishingEvolutionary Psychology1474-70492005-01-01310.1177/14747049050030010610.1177_147470490500300106The Role of Dreams in the Evolution of the Human MindMichael S. FranklinMichael J. ZyphurThis 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.https://doi.org/10.1177/147470490500300106
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Michael S. Franklin
Michael J. Zyphur
spellingShingle Michael S. Franklin
Michael J. Zyphur
The Role of Dreams in the Evolution of the Human Mind
Evolutionary Psychology
author_facet Michael S. Franklin
Michael J. Zyphur
author_sort Michael S. Franklin
title The Role of Dreams in the Evolution of the Human Mind
title_short The Role of Dreams in the Evolution of the Human Mind
title_full The Role of Dreams in the Evolution of the Human Mind
title_fullStr The Role of Dreams in the Evolution of the Human Mind
title_full_unstemmed The Role of Dreams in the Evolution of the Human Mind
title_sort role of dreams in the evolution of the human mind
publisher SAGE Publishing
series Evolutionary Psychology
issn 1474-7049
publishDate 2005-01-01
description 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.
url https://doi.org/10.1177/147470490500300106
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