Mental Models in Sleep: Why Do We Feel More Conscious in Lucid Dreams?

Abstract

Why do I seem to be more conscious in a lucid dream? I mean, that's what happens, isn't it? There you are dreaming away, ridiculous and quite unaware that it is a dream and suddenly you seem to be there. It's as though you've woken up in the middle of a dream, only of course the body hasn't. What has changed? I realize that I can't come to grips with what this question means. To ask, "why am I more conscious in a lucid dream?", begs a whole load of questions about consciousness, about "I", the nature of self, and about what it could possibly mean for something to be more or less conscious. It's a horrible question. Nevertheless, I will have a go at answering it.