“Mammals about to be born dream of the world to come.”

One of my favorite features of Harper’s magazine is “Findings,” a collection of briefly stated scientific facts strung together in a few paragraphs on the last page.  The October 2021 issue had this statement as the final “Finding” of the month:  “Mammals about to be born dream of the world to come.”

It is enticing to think: even before we are born, we are able to dream.  I had to learn more, so I did a web search.

It turns out that this finding is based on research done by Michael Crair, a professor and vice provost for research at Yale University.  He and his team studied images of the brains of mice shortly after birth but before their eyes opened.  They discovered that the mice’s retinal waves immediately after birth flowed in a pattern that mimics what would occur if the mouse was moving forward through the environment (Hathaway, para 6).  “These brain circuits are self-organized at birth and some of the early teaching is already done,” Crair said. “It’s like dreaming about what you are going to see before you even open your eyes.” (Hathaway, para. 12).

Crair and his team have given us a description of a pre-birth experience that benefits beings after they are born.  That said, on a philosophical level, when I read the “Finding” in Harper’s, the first thing I thought is what C.S. Lewis once said:  “We don't have a soul. We are a soul. We happen to have a body.”