Abstract
The Snares of Imagination. Two basic problems are posed by the existence of a powerful imag ination (the mental capacity to create virtual realities) in human beings: The nervous system needs a mechanism to differentiate the real from the virtual reality and on the other hand, the relatively recent evolutionary appearance of imagination may interfere with the function of the much older emotional mechanisms. These face the challenge of how to react to images produced by the brain, like those of external reality, but which are not external reality at all. This paper discusses two mec hanisms by which these problems may be (partially) solved: the qualia and the consciousness of our own mental activity. The author focuses on the second mechanism and introduces two distinct forms of consciousness: reality-bound and reality-unbound consciousness. Their fundamental difference is that emotions, in the first case, are directed towards "real" reality, whereas in the second, are driven by virtual reality. Humans can choose between these two operating modes and this choice has far-reaching consequences for their lives.
