Freud's 'On Dreams' - Part 1
The Core of Freud's Theories about Dreaming
In 1901, just six months after publishing his groundbreaking work The Interpretation of Dreams (IOD), Sigmund Freud released a condensed summary titled "On Dreams." This paper, while much briefer than IOD, articulates the core of Freud's revolutionary ideas about the nature of dreams and their significance to the scientific endeavour of understanding the human psyche. In this post we will explore the phenomena of dreaming through the lens of Freud's "On Dreams", exploring how this seminal work continues to influence our understanding of the human mind. This post is based on the content of a postgraduate seminar from my dreams module, which forms a part of the M.Phil. in Psychoanalytic Studies situated in the School of Psychology at Trinity College Dublin
"On Dreams" serves as an accessible entry point into Freud's more extensive work on dream analysis. In this paper, Freud presents his key ideas about dreams in a concise and readable form, making his theories more approachable for a wider non expert audience. Despite being so brief in comparison to IOD, "On Dreams" contains the basic components of Freud's dream theory, providing a good foundation for understanding his psychoanalytic approach. I encourage any readers interested in learning more about Freud, dreams, and/or psychoanalysis to read “On Dreams”.
One of the important concepts Freud introduces in "On Dreams" is the distinction between manifest and latent dream content. The manifest content refers to the actual narrative of the dream as we remember it upon waking. The latent content represents the hidden, symbolic meaning behind these surface images. Freud argues that our unconscious mind disguises our true desires (the latent content), in what appears to us upon recall, as nonsensical dream dramatisations (the manifest content) in order to protect us from disturbing thoughts and wishes. The disturbing aspects of these thoughts and wishes are, according to Freud, a result of a clash between biological impulses and civilizations prohibitions or constraints on these impulses. This process of disguise is what Freud called "dream work."
In "On Dreams," Freud elaborates on two primary mechanisms of dream work: condensation and displacement. Condensation occurs when multiple ideas or images are combined into a single dream element. For instance, a dream character might possess features of several people from the dreamer's life. This condensation allows the dream to express complex ideas or emotions in a compact form. Displacement, on the other hand, involves the transfer of emotional significance from one object or person to another, often less threatening one. Freud provides examples of this in "On Dreams," showing how anxiety about one situation might be represented in the dream by an apparently unrelated scenario.
A key thesis in "On Dreams" is that every dream, at its centre, represents the fulfilment of a wish. I have mentioned in previous posts that I am not a big fan of the term ‘wish fulfilment’ and how I think motivational mechanisms might be a more appropriate term. Freud illustrates this concept with examples from children's dreams, which he argues are often straightforward representations of wishes, such as enjoying a favourite meal or going on an exciting adventure. For Freud, adult dreams are typically more complex due to the development of moral standards and the need to repress certain desires. The dream work then becomes more elaborate, obscuring the true nature of our desires behind layers of symbolism and displacement. In contrast, children’s dreams are relatively more straightforward - a dream about a house made of chocolate is about exactly that!
In the paper, Freud introduces the concept of "day residue" in the formation of dreams. He notices that the content of our dreams is often influenced by our recent experiences – the events, thoughts, and emotions of the previous day or days. These recent experiences provide the raw material that the unconscious mind uses to construct the dream narrative. However, Freud emphasises that day residue alone does not explain the full meaning of a dream. Instead, these recent experiences are combined with deeper desires and conflicts, frequently rooted in childhood, to create the dream's content. Although Freud did not develop this train of thought further he was in fact touching on something that subsequent researchers and scientists interested in dreams would later develop - the role that dreams play in the consolidation and reconsolidation of memory.
Another interesting concept Freud introduces in "On Dreams" is the idea of dreams as the "guardian of sleep." He proposes the idea that the primary ( and in his view, evolutionary preserved) function of dreams is to preserve sleep by providing a safe outlet for unconscious wishes and conflicts - like an overflow reservoir. By disguising potentially disturbing thoughts (actually, to be more precise, the feelings associated with these thoughts) in dream imagery, the mind prevents these thoughts from erupting into consciousness and disrupting sleep. Interestingly, there is some preliminary data from a pilot study by a group of dream researchers in Berlin, led by Mark Solms, that supports this idea. Participants of this pilot study who dream score higher on measures of quality and quantity of sleep.
Freud also outlines his method for interpreting dreams in "On Dreams," which eventually become the cornerstone of psychoanalytic practice. The process involves several steps:
1. The dreamer recounts the dream in as much detail as possible.
2. The analyst encourages the dreamer to engage in free association – trying not to censor anything and saying whatever comes to mind in relation to each element of the dream.
3. The analyst listens carefully for patterns, recurring themes, and emotional resonances in these associations.
4. Gradually, over time, the analyst and dreamer work together to uncover a sense of what the latent content of the dream might be, revealing the underlying desires or conflicts it expresses.
Freud emphasises that dream interpretation is not about applying a universal symbol dictionary. While some symbols might have common meanings across cultures, the true significance of dream elements is highly personal and can only be understood in the context of the dreamer's individual psyche and life experiences.
Towards the end of the paper Freud begins to draw connections between his theory of dreams and broader psychological disturbances. He suggests that many symptoms of psychological and emotional distress might be expressions of unconscious conflicts similar to those revealed in dreams. This understanding formed the basis for psychoanalytic approaches to treating various issues that the people we work with clinically present with.
While many of Freud's specific ideas have been challenged or modified by subsequent research and theory, "On Dreams" remains a seminal text in the field of psychoanalytic studies. The idea that dreams have meaning beyond how they appear to us, and that they can provide insight into our unconscious minds, continues to influence both clinical practice, scientific research, and our popular understanding of dreams.
Modern psychoanalytic approaches to dream interpretation, while often departing from Freud's original techniques, still place great emphasis on the importance of exploring the personal associations and emotional resonances of dream content. Many therapists continue to use dream analysis as a tool for helping the people they are working with gain insight into their own lived experiences.
Some modern approaches focus less on uncovering hidden wishes and more on exploring the emotional landscape of the dream. Other approaches have expanded on Freud's ideas, proposing that dreams can serve functions beyond wish fulfilment, such as processing emotional experiences or promoting psychological growth - more about this in future posts in the dream series. Many contemporary therapists are of the view that it is enough in itself for the person to have the emotional experience associated with recalling the dream in the therapy session.
In my view, and that of many colleagues, Freud’s major contribution in "On Dreams" was the idea that our dream lives are not separate from our waking lives, but in fact are deeply connected to our deepest thoughts, feelings, and desires. Whether or not we accept all aspects of his theory, this fundamental concepts continues to endure within the field. It forms the foundational concept of many of the later views and theories on dreams we will encounter in this series of posts.
© 2024 Paul Moore
