Research Paper on "Sigmund Freud's the Interpretation of Dreams"

Research Paper 10 pages (3084 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation Of Dreams

The purpose of the present paper is to discuss one of Sigmund Freud's books, namely "The interpretation of dreams." In order to better understand the importance of the book, it must be underlined right from the very beginning that Freud was the first person to turn the area of dreams into a scientific one. While some must have considered such a practice strange at the beginning, the theories issued by Freud soon became famous all over the world and other people used began using them as a basis for further researches.

Since the human organism is very well organized and nothing within it happens without a reason, Freud asked himself what was the meaning of dreams. Why did people dream at all? What was the frequency of the dreams? Why do we dream some things and not others? Do dreams have something to say about our unconscious desires or are they a mere reflection of our facts? Can dreams help us get to know ourselves better? Can dreams help us cure our psychological problems? These were some of the questions which Sigmund Freud came up with and which he tried to answer in the book which represents the focus of the present analysis.

But how did Freud get to be interested in this specific inssue? In the session in which he listened to his patients, he often came across people who would tell him their dreams, even if he did not make a request in this direction. . This made him realize that potential importance of dreams. He declared that the interpretation of dreams could be used as a tool in the processes of psychoanalysis, together with practices of hypnosis ad free association. While this may have seemed unusual at the end of the nineteenth century, the practice has become common in the meantime.

The thesis that Freud proved to demonstrate through his analysis of dreams was that dreams represent key factor in understanding what happens in the subconscious. It must be also be mentioned that his analysis of dreams was not limited to the cases of the people who suffered from mental problems, but included cases of healthy people, as well. The implication was to be found in the general area of psychotherapy. In other words, Freud was starting to change the methods.

Dreams occur when we sleep. In order to understand them, we must first analyze the characteristics of the state of sleep. According to Freud, we fall asleep when our body becomes too tired to respond to the surrounding stimuli. At a psychical level, we may speak about the absence of contact with reality and also with the absence of interest in whatever may be going on around us. The consequence of or lack of interest is the fact that the input from the external world is reduced to a minimum level. However, there are still stimuli which continue to act upon the human organism during sleep. However, its reaction to them will not be a conscious one, but an unconscious one. In other words, Freud suggests that dreams are a manner in which we respond to external stimuli while being in a state of sleep.

A further theory which he brought about referred to the symbolic meaning of dreams. Therefore, there is more to dreams than the reaction to what happens to our body during sleep. In order to understand what a dream's meaning is, we ought to interpret it. But which criteria should we use in order to perform a proper interpretation? Freud claimed that there such a thing called "latent content" and that this was responsible for the visual- manifest content of dreams. The manifest factors were considered to be symbols, each having specific meaning.

The sexual dimension was a key factor in his interpretation of dreams, as most symbols encountered during sleep were of this nature. For example, he state that the number three is a symbol of the sexual organs belonging to the man. In addition, all the objects which resembled it (mountains, rocks, anything that can be taken for a phallus) had the same meaning. The objects which can be used in order to harm the body through penetration fell in the same category (swords, knives, guns). The symbolic phallus could also be found in the objects associated with running water, such as the pipes or the fountains. The list does not stop here, but includes many other elements which may have lighter connections with the phallic representation.

The female sexual organs also had a very important place among the visual symbols encountered in dreams. The objects associated with them were usually the ones which can contain things, such as the cave, the bottles, the boxes, the ships or the closets. The same was valid for passages, entrances, churches or fortresses. A further association was made between female genitalia and materials such as wood or paper and all the objects made of them.

Masturbation was an important element in Freud's interpretations. He associated all kinds of play with it (even play of instruments). The masturbation complex was associated with the image of fallen or falling teeth, which was supposed to represent the punishment of the act. Sexual relations on the other hand were represented by all the activities which involved some kind of rhythm, such as dancing or riding, running, going up and down the stairs, etc.

Now that humanity provided with a minimum key for the interpretation of dreams, the work in this direction could very well start. Nevertheless, Freud underlined the importance of always contextualizing this process. It is true that symbols have an universal value. However, in the case of people who suffer from various mental disturbances, they become even more relevant under the circumstances in which we know that person's past. Reading between the lines we understand that the universal symbols may have a specific meaning for persons which have undergone certain experiences.

Free association is another key element which will help the psychotherapist realize what is wrong with the patient. As far as Freud was concerned, a therapeutic session had the patient tell his dream in detail (as much as he could remember) and afterward the therapist would ask him to make free association based on various elements of / in the dream. Free association is an important practice as it occurs under the form of spontaneous thoughts and feelings. This spontaneity is believed to be connected with parts of the person which he or she is unaware of, that is parts which can be found in the subconscious. Just like Freud underlines it, it is very important to convince the patients that he must in no way censor himself in the process of making free associations.

We realize that through this type of rule, a special relation is created between the patient and the therapist who interprets his dreams. Freud declared that between the patient and him there must be an unbreakable pact, namely that one will "not leave out any idea when telling dreams, even if he or she gets one of the four objections: the idea is irrelevant, too senseless, it is not connected with the issue or it is too embarrassing"(Freud, 1977). It is clear to see that a new type of relationship is established between the patient and the therapist. New coordinates, such as mutual trust are introduced and given a great deal of importance.

There are a few aspects which must be considered when trying to explain the importance of Freud's theory regarding the interpretation of dreams. One of the psychotherapist's theories- which succeeded to change the way in which people approached the process of self knowledge and self understanding- is represented by the one in which he explains that we are not masters of our own mind. According to him, there are numerous elements which live within us and which determine our values and actions- although we are not aware of their existence. These elements are believed to be found in the subconscious, an area of the consciousness that people have greater difficulty accessing.

Despite these elements being somewhat "hidden," their intensity and force is overwhelming. Freud seems to suggest that they are actually stronger than the conscious ones in determining our actions. The area of the subconscious remains hidden and difficult to access for means of self-discovery. Yet, these hidden characteristics of the human psyche reveal themselves through the means of dreams. They are often related with the repressed desires, or with traumas which we have underwent in the past. Freud argued that they are mostly connected with the sexual desires- hence all the symbols associated with sex. A further interesting suggestion which he makes is that nightmares are just the manifestation of the anxieties that people have -- related to their sexual desires and impulses.

One of the critiques which could be brought to Freud's theory of the subconscious refers to the fact that it can not be known. According to… READ MORE

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