What survives our dreams?

The dream argument interpreted either way we discussed in class relates to the idea of a painter. The narrator discusses how painters tend to paint pictures based on things that exist. However, it may be possible that a painter paints a picture of something that is completely fictitious. Even if this is the case the colors which the painter uses would still be real. Here is where the narrator sees the dream argument to end. It seems that while we may be able to dream of something completely fictitious there is a certain category of things that we dream that are indubitable facts. This class according to the narrator includes color, shape, quantity, time, etc. Thus, it seems that studies of composite ideas such as “physics, astronomy, and medicine” do not survive the dream argument, disciplines such as “arithmetic, geometry, and other subjects of this kind” survive the dream argument. This is because they consist of the most basic things. In other words, the narrator feels that we may be able to dream up fictitious beings or objects and thus we cannot trust any beings or objects to be real. However, the most basic concepts such as shape and number is not something that can be dreamt up. We cannot dream of a fictitious number or shape. Thus, when considering shape and number while awake, we have no reason to doubt the reality of it. This works even with either interpretation of the dream argument. One the one interpretation, the narrator states that we cannot tell if we are awake or not. However, if one cannot doubt these basic things in a dream it does not matter if we are awake or not. On the other interpretation we again do not have reason to doubt these things in our dreams, so there is no consideration of whether we should doubt these things in the same way we doubt them in our dreams. Thus, “arithmetic, geometry, and other subjects of this kind” seem to survive the dream argument.