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    Norman Malcolm argued in 'Dreaming' (1959) that dream rep... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→Descartes' formulation of the dreaming argument is not self-refuting.

    Norman Malcolm argued in 'Dreaming' (1959) that dream reports are logically parasitic on waking language, making the very concept of 'dreaming while asleep' unintelligible without waking certainty.

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    Key Terms

    Logically parasitic(describing how dream reports depend on waking language)
    Something that depends entirely on something else to make sense—like how a joke needs context to be funny.
    Norman Malcolm(as the philosopher being cited)
    A 20th-century American philosopher who studied logic and the philosophy of language, known for his work on arguments and how we know things.
    Waking certainty(what Malcolm argues is necessary to even understand the concept of dreaming)
    The solid, reliable knowledge we have about the world when we're awake and able to verify things with our senses.
    Waking language(contrasted with how we describe dreams)
    The words and concepts we use to describe and talk about things while we're awake and conscious.
    unintelligible

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    (as describing what would happen to Baumgarten's theory without this distinction)
    Impossible to understand or make sense of; completely unclear or contradictory.

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    Philosophy of Language1 linkedSkepticism1 linked

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    Descartes' formulation of the dreaming argument is not self-refuting.

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