Drying out our Dirty Dreams
A common definition of dreams according to “Patterns for College Writing” is “the symbolic representation of mental states”, but this sparse definition does not begin to encompass the complex mechanisms behind dreams and its effects on human culture around the globe. Dreams have long been the topics of folklore and urban legends. Since human beginnings, people have sought to uncover the origin of dreams. The ancient Greeks believed dreams came from the God Oneiroi. The Chinese believes that dreams happened when the hun or spirit leaves the body for the land of the dead. The Ishi Indians believed that dreams were sacred messages from the Gods. Yet even now, with the current technological and intellectual advancements, scientists and psychoanalysts have still to find the true reasons and meanings of these dreams. Some argue that dreams are the products of overactive subconscious minds while others argue that dreams are solely randomized emotions from the limbic system during sleep. Despite these contrasting theories, the truth of the matter is that the topic of dreams and the reasons behind them remain a mystery.
One of the most credited theories in dream analysis, Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory of Dreams, credits dreams to humans’ deepest subconscious desires and primitive instincts due to the repression of the superegos. A major deduction that Freud used in the formulation of his theory is the concept that there are three parts to the human psyche: the superego, ID, and ego. (Freud) According to Freudian theories, each part of the psyche is dependent on one another, similar to the checks and balances system in the American government. The superego serves as a filter and limits the ID which presents t...
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...heory, reverse learning theory, and activation synthesis model, others focus on the mental exercise and simulations that dreams bring to us in the evolutionary theory of sleep. While many of the theories agree that dreams are a representation of ideas and thoughts from the unconscious mind, no single theory has been formed as the single primary authority on the matter of dreams despite more support for some of the theories. The fact of the matter is that despite the rampant research and discourse on the concept behind dreaming, these theories are merely speculations. But these speculations feed the curiosity on dreams and will hopefully lead to the expansion of dream analysis to not only better develop the current understanding of dreams, but also to help people around the world by possibly expanding dream analysis to become an early identifier of mental illness.
My ideas resemble a mixture of Rosalind Cartwright and Sigmund Freud’s theories on dreams. Freud believed that the purpose of our dreams is to attain a
Freud reportedly admired Aristotle's assertion that dreaming is the activity of the mind during sleep (Fine, 1973). It was perhaps the use of the term activity that Freud most appreciated in this brief definition for, as his understanding of the dynamics of dreaming increased, so did the impression of ceaseless mental activity differing in quality from that of ordinary waking life (Fine, 1973). In fact, the quality of mental activity during sleep differed so radically from what we take to be the essence of mental functioning that Freud coined the term "Kingdom of the Illogical" to describe that realm of the human psyche. This technique of dream-interpretation allowed him to penetrate (Fine, 1973).
In his book, Modern Man In Search Of A Soul, C.G. Jung gives a layperson insight into his ideas on dream analysis. Jung's primary objective in this book is to educate the reader as to what a psychoanalyst does when analyzing a patient's dreams. The principal message in the section of the book centered on dream analysis is that dreams should never stand alone. Dreams are meaningless in a vacuum, but on the other hand when put against a strict set of rules, they are oftentimes misunderstood. The unconscious is a fluid entity and cannot be handled either in isolation or with a static set of guidelines. Dreams are reflections of the unconscious and can represent many different things inside of a person. Modern Man In Search Of A Soul describes the techniques of dream analysis that a psychoanalyst following Jung's ideas would ideally follow.
It is universally known that dreams are full of meanings and emotions. In Freud’s theory, all dreams are wish fulfillments or at least attempts at wish fulfillment. The dreams are usually presented in an unrecognizable form because the wishes are repressed. Freud proposes there are two levels in the structure of dreams, the manifest contents and the latent dream-thoughts. The manifest dream, a dream with understandable contents, is a substitute-formation that hides latent dream-thoughts, which are the abstract ideas in dreams. This translation of latent dream-thoughts to the manifest dream-content is defined by Freud as “dream-work”. Dream-work consists of certain types of transformation.
One of Freud's major contributions was his appreciation of unconscious processes in people’s lives. According to Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, the dream images and their symbolic messages can be observed as one's fulfilled wis...
Psychology, neuroscience try to explain them, 2012). He studied dreams to better understand aspects of personality as they relate to pathology. Freud believed that every action is motivated by the unconscious at a certain level. In order to be successful in a civilized society, the urges and desires of the unconscious mind must be repressed. Freud believed that dreams are manifestations of urges and desires that are suppressed in the unconscious. Freud categorized the mind into three parts: the id, the ego, and the superego. When one is awake, the impulses if the id are suppressed by the superego, but during dreams, one may get a glimpse into the unconscious mind, or the id. The unconscious has the opportunity to express hidden desires of the id during dreaming. Freud believed that the id can be so disturbing at times that the id’s content can be translated into a more acceptable form. This censor leads to a sometimes confusing and strange dream image. According to Freud, the reason one may struggle to remember a dream is because the superego protects the conscious mind from the disturbance of the unconscious mind (Dream Theories,
An important procedure for gaining data on the unconscious and subconscious mind is through the analysis of dreams (Butcher, 2013). While sleeping, a person’s mental defensive filters are lowered. Therefore, forbidden desires such as sex and emotional feelings of repression may find themselves into a clients dream. The mind interprets this unconscious cognition and disguises these feelings into symbolism. (2013) This is why dream interpretation is a valid form of information gathering on an individual’s subconscious and emotional stressors. Dreams contain two types of content, manifest content which is the dream as it appears and latent content which contains the actual motives of the dreamer that are repressed into symbols because they are unacceptable or painful rumination (2013). The psychologist must associate these symbols with meanings by using client and the correlation between the client and the meanings. For example a client may have a reoccurring dream of dying, this could possibly mean he is afraid of death. Dreams in many cases are believed to be mental disturbances. Dream analysis is a highly under looked method of information gathering that has yet to be utilized to its full potential.
Based on On Dreams, written by Sigmund Freud, and Spellbound, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, provide the most psychological significant aspect of dreams through the theory of dreams made by Freud. I partially agree with Freud’s theory on dreams and the dreaming process. Dreams have the ability to form a bridge from reality to transfer over to the unconscious mindset. Throughout his article, On Dreams, he gives explanations behind his theory. The human psyche has a vital role in psychology, including the way humans interpret dreams and their sequence.
All over the world different people, scientists, and civilizations have different dream theories. For instance, the Senoi tribe in Malaysia has a fascinating tradition of dream telling. Every morning the people of the tribe begin their day by discussing and interpreting their dreams with each other. The children, as they grow older, actually learn to control their dreams by simply wishing bad dreams into positive ones. It is observed that, by paying tribute their dreams, the people of the Senoi tribe learn to have faith in themselves. Also, they have very few, if any, mental problems “could working constructively with dreams be part of the answer” to mental issues? (Peirce)
Many philosophers, psychiatrists, and doctors have tried to explain the role of the unconscious, mostly through interpreting dreams; two who lead the way in the field of dream interpretation were Sigmund Freud and his most famous pupil, Carl Jung. By reviewing these men's views we can come to a better understanding of the role of the unconscious.
But for this paper, a review of Freud’s concepts of dreams, an analysis of the Activation Synthesis Theory of dreams, and an inquiry into the Activation-Information-Mode (AIM) Model of dreams are
DMOZ - Science: Social Sciences: Psychology: Dreams: Theories and Research. (n.d.). DMOZ - Science: Social Sciences: Psychology: Dreams: Theories and Research. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.dmoz.org/Science/Social_Sciences/Psychology/Dreams/Theories_and_Research/&sa=U&ei=8AttU-6vH7OgsAS93oDYCQ&ved=0CDsQFjAF&usg=AFQjCNEZy9xbRADVBFg-3CdEca4pdO5WtA
Many studies on the brain and in psychology today have proven that everyone dreams. However, views on what dreams represent can vary drastically. Freud, a well known psychologist from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s, felt there was a strong relationship between dreams and the desires of the instinctual aspect of the unconscious, the id (Van de Castle, 1994). These unconscious desires can be analyzed through dreams by inspecting the manifest and latent content of the dream. Carl Jung, another well known psychologist from the Freudian time frame, believed dreams were insightful to a collective unconscious.
There is no denying that culture is ever changing. Trends frequently come and go, technology continues to advance, and beliefs constantly shift. However, there is one thing that has been a constant in human life, occurring even as early as in the womb. Not only do humans dream every night, but dream interpretation has been a constant practice cross-culturally and religiously. For many, dreams are regarded as prophetic and symbolic. Ancient spiritual insights have even lended themselves to more modern, scientific studies. For example, 3,000 years ago, Hindu research recorded the existence of two distinct sleep stages. In the 1950’s, Western researchers rediscovered this fundamental fact and helped establish dream studying as a scientific branch.
The Ancient Greeks had surprise dream encounters with their gods. Native Americans turned to their dreams for guidance in life. Shamans dreamed in order to gather information from the spirits. Sleep and dreams define eras, cultures, and individuals. Sigmund Freud’s interpretation of dreams revolutionized twentieth-century thought.