What is the latest scientific thinking on this?<p>If yes, then some related questions:<p>- what do animals dream of?
- do they remember their dreams?
- do they reflect on their dreams?<p>I know this sounds all very exotic, however I'm approaching this from
a purely philosophical point of view - nothing more, nothing less.<p>I was pondering - and pondering is something very human - about the
question why we are here, life, the universe and everything ... i.e. 42.<p>When I caught myself wondering whether animals ponder? I guess we humans
have been pondering ever since we had enough time to do so. Do animals
have the time to ponder? Domestic pets certainly, I would argue.<p>I guess we all know where this is leading to: do animals ponder that
biggy question: why (are we|am i) here?
Animals certainly dream. If you live with a pet, you'll see them in REM sleep. Whether they understand the difference between reality and dreams, I don't know. Throughout history it was not the case with humans as we only recently (in historical terms) started investigating their nature.<p>Mammals have brains very much like ours and experience the world in was that aren't too different. All the bits and pieces to reflect on dreams are there, lacking the language to express it in abstract terms.