This paper surveys the major theoretical accounts of dreaming, beginning with Sigmund Freud's wish-fulfillment hypothesis and its significant revisions between 1900 and 1935. It traces the earlier influence of Aristotle, who linked dreaming to the mind's need for continuous activity, before turning to contemporary perspectives. Neuroscientist Mark Solms is examined for his work disassociating REM sleep from dreaming and proposing a neurological pathway tied to motivation and goal-seeking behavior. Owen Flanagan's brainstem-based narrative theory is also considered. The paper concludes that despite decades of research, no single theory has achieved consensus, and the subject remains scientifically and philosophically open.
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When dreams and the purpose of dreaming are discussed, Sigmund Freud's theory of dreaming invariably enters the conversation. Freud is widely regarded as the pioneer of modern dreaming theories. Regardless of the content of his theories and their highly controversial nature, his work is assigned utmost critical value in the field. It is important to understand that Freud's Interpretation of Dreams, published in 1900, was only the first version of his theory; he later revised it significantly, and it is the final form that deserves more frequent discussion. For some reason, however, it is the original, unrevised version that is most often cited and analyzed.
According to Freud, dreams were closely connected with wish fulfillment. He argued that a child who witnesses scenes of sexual intimacy carries those experiences forward, and they play a significant role in his dreams later in life. Freud associated dreams with repressed sexual activity, and it was through the gratification of these wishes that a person obtained pleasure. Because pleasure during sleep could potentially disrupt sleep itself, dreams served as a preserver of sleep.
Dreams were thus understood as a way to release tension. Freud famously stated that "interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind" (Freud, 1900, p. 608). In the very first version of his theory, he acknowledged the existence of "psychical instigations to dreaming, left over from waking life, which are other than wishes" (p. 554). He went on to address what might appear to be a contradiction, explaining that "the daytime thought, which was not in itself a wish but on the contrary a worry," could not on its own generate a dream (p. 556). In short, his early theory tied dreaming closely to sexual wishes and the release of tension, which he believed could help a patient uncover and treat neurosis.
Freud later discarded this therapeutic premise in 1920, confessing that such treatment had failed to "solve the therapeutic problem . . ." (p. 18). In subsequent revisions, he continued to associate dreams with sexual wishes while adding further dimensions to his framework. He arrived at a final summation in 1935, writing that "Aristotle's old definition of the dream as mental life during sleep still holds good. There was reason for my not choosing as the title of my book the Dream but the Interpretation of Dreams" (1925, p. 46).
Freud's work was followed by a host of other theories that borrowed from, revised, and added to his original framework. Long before Freud, however, Aristotle had discussed the subject of dreaming, concluding that human beings are created for activity. Since they do need to rest, the mind preserves the important function of activity by remaining active even during sleep. Aristotle also tied dreaming to diet and digestion. Not all parts of his theory hold up today, but his argument about mental activity during rest has always received considerable attention.
Over the years, people have asked numerous questions about dreaming — from why we dream at all, to why the mind cannot "just shut down and stop caring about tracking the true and the good and take an eight-hour vacation from thinking and feeling anything at all" (Flanagan, p. 38). Theorists, scientists, and thinkers have each offered their own explanations. Dreams have been characterized as "warnings," "premonitions," "announcers of good," and "indicators of the future." Many hold that dreams originate from a divine power that warns people about the consequences of their actions or steers them toward a better path through symbolic messages. Early sleep science also held that dreaming occurred exclusively during REM sleep, but this view has since been replaced by a more comprehensive understanding: dreams are distributed across all stages of sleep, with REM sleep accounting for the majority.
"Solms' neurological pathway and motivational dream model"
"Flanagan rejects Freud; brainstem narrative account"
Dreams remain an interesting but controversial subject for scientists, psychologists, and scholars alike. No single theory has so far been able to refute all others, and the mystery endures. Freud is an indispensable name in the field, but even his theory was fraught with internal tensions and limitations. Those with a religious orientation connect dreams with past events, warnings about the future, or signs of good news — seeing them as messages from God guiding a person toward the right path. Even with all these competing theories, the central questions remain open and research continues.
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