Sheesh, you ask some great questions, Sender. I have to think about that. Not sure how Prudence Louise answered but on first take I would say yes and no.

Dreams? I do have some control but most appear to arise mostly out of the experiences of the day or what is seething in my sub-conscious mind. It’s fascinating to contemplate how various things going on in my conscious life show up in odd, sometimes disturbing ways in my dreams. I say I have some control because sometimes when I waken and have all the sensations that accompany a troubling dream, I can work at changing the content by focusing on more pleasant things and trying to in a sense erase the images and experiences that may be arising. Sometimes it seems to work, often not. I suppose it is possible when I think I am altering the content of my dream, that is just an illusion and it is all under the control of my subconscious self.

As for perceptions and what control we have, again, yes and no. I can choose to avail myself of some perceptions or turn away from them and avoid them. Indulging in porn, for example, is a choice. So is watching violent movies or watching the Hallmark channel. When I look at and see the visible world, of course I cannot control the objects my senses take in other than controlling where I focus my attention.

Going a bit deeper, I was just reading about Kant and his transcendental idealism which said that we have ideas in our minds about what we perceive but what we perceive are never the things in themselves but only the ideas we hold. He also said that the things in themselves do not cause perceptions and that is the critique that Shultze provided to suggest that according to Kant the things in themselves could not cause appearances and so do not exist. Hmmm, I don’t know.

What do you think?