If we aren’t the only dreaming animal: If we aren’t the only dreaming animal…

George Santayana once described humans rather Shakespearely as ‘the dreaming animal’. It further makes humans come across as special and firms up anthropocentrism – ‘racism‘ against non-human species, if you will – by underlining the ‘fact’ that non-humans don’t dream. That thesis seems to be not doing so well these days. In 2022, sleeping jumping spiders were observed by ecologist Daniela Roßler to display REM – rapid eye movement, a physical manifestation observed in humans when in a dream state.

The jury is still out on whether jumping spiders replicate REM signs or do have spider dreams. But along with mammals like dogs, cats, mice, horses and sheep – whether androids dream of electric sheep is still unconfirmed – identified as having REM, the likes of octopi and spiders are also being observed as most likely having Mungerilal-type haseen sapne. As philosopher David M Pena-Guzman says in When Animals Dream: The Hidden World of Animal Consciousness, a cultural prejudice – ‘mentophobia’, the fear of viewing animals as having a mind of their own – leads us to see animals as food, labour power, resources for experiments, pets, etc – but not as dreaming creatures like us. If and when this ‘dreaming difference’ is proved to be false, putting humans in contradistinction to other animals will be logically one less step secure.