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From: rjf@ukc.ac.uk (R.J.Faichney)
Newsgroups: sci.misc
Subject: Re: Instant Dreams (just add -----?)
Message-ID: <2231@eagle.ukc.ac.uk>
Date: Sat, 6-Dec-86 11:49:20 EST
Article-I.D.: eagle.2231
Posted: Sat Dec  6 11:49:20 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 7-Dec-86 05:23:18 EST
References: <3@.UUCP> <147@maccs.UUCP> <3540@teddy.UUCP> <7276@gatech.EDU>
Reply-To: rjf@ukc.ukc.ac.uk (R.J.Faichney)
Organization: U of Kent at Canterbury, Canterbury, UK
Lines: 32
Keywords: dreams

People might be interested to know that Freud based his theory on the 
interpretation of dreams on just the sort of thing being discussed here.
The reasoning goes something like this:

Suppose the function of the mechanism which attempts to relate external
stimuli to dream content, is simply to explain such things in such a way that
the tendency to arouse is mitigated, and the state of sleep protected.
If our minds are still, to some limited extent, active during sleep,
mulling over the events of our waking lives, maybe some of the realisations
which are bubbling under, would be too much for us (vis Oedipus etc), so
the dream mechanism explains away such internal stimuli as well. So
to know what is bothering someone, all you need is an enlightened analysis
of their dreams. Once the problem has been faced up to, in the waking
state, it is no longer supressed (relegated to the subconscious, or, I
would say, combination semi-conscious/memory rejecting thing) and so 
pathological symptoms should subside.

This is an incredibly crude account of something which Freud took at least
one whole book ('On the Interpretation of Dreams') to explain. It may be
dubious in many ways, but I think it's interesting. 

'My employers know nothing about this.'

-- 
Robin Faichney

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