Amy's Choice Parallel- Jamie Peters

on
       I know this reveals my true geek self, but just hear me out. Also, just as a PSA, in the famous words of River Song, "Spoilers!". In the popular BBC show Doctor Who, there is an episode in which the Doctor, Amy, and Rory are trapped in a dreamlike trance. The villain, who is revealed to be the Doctor's consciousness, has given the trio two worlds. One is the waking world, and one is the dream world, and they have to figure out which is which before they die in the real world. The crazy twist at the end is that neither of the worlds, or dreams, are real, and that is what really ties together the plot of this and the section of Pascal's "Thoughts" about dreams.
       Pascal says that "... during sleep we believe that we are awake as firmly as we do when we are awake..." (441). To me, personally, that is a very accurate statement, especially in the context of the argument that we, as finite humans, can never be sure of anything. Besides that, I really didn't have any thoughts about the argument that I want to share right now. The only thing I could think about while reading this segment was the fact that one of the producers at BBC definitely read Pascal.

PS. Here is a link to a scene from the episode: https://youtu.be/bw_BkGMZPRg

PPS. I commented on Luke's and Rebecca's blog posts

Comments

Mackenzie Jackson said…
I am so glad someone else also agreed with Pascal's statement on sleeping. He put this in a way that I had never thought about before. I also really appreciated you posting the link of the BBC producers. Great blog post, Jamie!
November 16, 2019 at 5:31 PM
Owen said…
I remember that episode, well the beginning of it anyways. I never watched the end, guess I don't have to anymore. I like how you managed to relate the reading to pop culture, it really helps paint a better mental picture of what is being described. As for Pascal, he reminds me alot of Descartes and I found it interesting that he even says "Shall he doubt whether he exists? We cannot go so far as that; and I lay it down as a fact that there never has been a real complete sceptic. Nature sustains our feeble reason, and prevents it raving to this extent." I feel that this is a direct jab at Descartes and I found it humorous.
November 16, 2019 at 6:35 PM
Luke Killam said…
YES Jamie! It could be even better said, "even when we are in the dark we may think we are in the light." It consists of a blindness of one's state. And someone won't find out about this state unless woken up by an outside force!! Great point and post.
November 17, 2019 at 8:45 PM
Rachael Gregson said…
Yes, I remember that episode when from when I used to watch that show! I really love how you tied the reality of sleep into Pascal's Thoughts. It makes me think of another assignment we had to read, Descartes's Dream Argument. Also, I think it's pretty witty that the producers of the show make the villain the Doctor's subconsciousness. Maybe sometimes our own thinking can put us into a dream state and entrap us there? Maybe it's not reality we should be wary of but own selves?
November 18, 2019 at 8:22 AM
Post a Comment