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" (Flanagan: 38) Theorists, scientists and thinkers have come up with their own views on dreaming. Dreams are considered "warnings," "premonitions," "announcer of good" and "indicators of future" as well. Many feel that dreams come from a divine power that warns people about the consequences of their actions or tries to put them on a better path by sending messages in the form of dreams. Initially it was believed that REM period was the only time when we dreamt but this theory has been replaced by a more comprehensive one that states that dreams are divided into all parts of our sleep with REM sleep accounting for most of the dreams. Neuroscientist Mark Solms goes back to Freud saying that dreams are connected with preservation of sleep on a statistical level. He doesn't bring wish fulfillment into the equation but does agree with Freud on the subject of preservation of sleep. Solms has come up with an interesting theory, which borrows from other theories but still manages to retain its uniqueness. He argues that there is a neurological pathway in the brain, which is essential for generation of dreams. Any damage to this pathway can not only cease dreaming process but also affect one's motivational powers. Interesting then, he argues that dreams are designed to motivate people to engage in activities and seek fulfillment of their biological needs. He agrees with Panksepp (1985) that the main function of this pathway is to "instigate goal-seeking behaviors and an organism's appetitive interactions with the world' (Panksepp: 273)
Mark Solms' work has also been criticized of its narrow focus but the disassociation that he managed to establish between REM and...
Flanagan disagrees with Nietzsche that dreams are workings of your inner poet, he completely refuses to agree with Freud that all dreams are meaningful. Instead he offers an alternative explanation saying: "Dreams are produced by activity originating in the brainstem that awakens stored or semistored thoughts and memories that are then put into some sort of narrative structure by higher brain sectors that are designed." (p. 127)
Dreams are thus an interesting but controversial subject for scientist, psychologists and scholars alike. They would love to come up with a theory that could refute all others but so far no one has been able to do that. Freud is an important name in the field but even his theory was fraught with problems and limitations. Those with a religious bent of mind connect dreams with a past event, a warning for the future, or see it as a sign of good news. They see dreams as messages from God, helping a person choose the right path among many. Even with all these theories, the mystery stays and the research goes on.
References
Flanagan, Owen. 2000. Dreaming Souls: Sleep, Dreams, and the Evolution of the Conscious Mind. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Freud, S, "An Autobiographical Study," the Standard Edition of the Complete Works of Sigmund Freud 20 (1925-26).
Freud, S. (1900), the interpretation of dreams. Standard Edition, 4 & 5. London: Hogarth Press, 1953
Panksepp J. (1985): Mood changes, in Handbook of Clinical Neurology 45, P. Vinken, G. Bruyn, H. Klawans, Eds. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 271-85.
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