Views of Dreams – Carl G. Jung and Sigmund Freud Essay Example
Abstract
The study of psychology has given rise to many differing theories which provided us with a deeper understanding and insight to dreams, and has long been viewed as mysterious and incomprehensible. However, no real consensus in the definition of dreams has been reached. In this essay, we will be exploring dream theories proposed by Sigmund Freud who asserted the importance of internal stimuli and dreams as a form of wish fulfilment, and Carl G. Jung’s theory which suggested that dreams are bridges that allow one to connect with the unconscious. As such, a cross comparison will be also be done to explore the major similarities and differences between these two theories which remained influential in today’s study of dreams.
Views of Dreams – Carl G. Jung and Sigmund Freud
For centuries, dreams have been a source of mystery and regarded as divine. Dreams have been interpreted as prophecies, predictions of the future, or even symbols of current affairs. These beliefs existed for centuries until modern psychology evolved and gave rise to many theories that have attempted to give greater insight and understanding of how dreams work and how they relate to our daily lives. Dreams are otherwise defined as mental experiences during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep that have a story-like feature, include rich visual imagery, are often inexplicable, and perceived as real by the dreamer (Antrobus, 1993). There are many varying theories of dreams such as that posited by Antrobus, who suggests that dreams occur due to our brains’ interpretations of external stimuli during sleep. Another theory uses a computer metaphor to account for dreams, wherein a dream serves to remove unneeded trivialities from the memory – much like clean-up operations in a computer – in order to refresh the mind to prepare for the next day (Evans & Newman, 1964). However, for the purposes of this essay, we will be looking at two theories of dreams from Carl G. Jung and his mentor, Sigmund
The study of psychology has given rise to many differing theories which provided us with a deeper understanding and insight to dreams, and has long been viewed as mysterious and incomprehensible. However, no real consensus in the definition of dreams has been reached. In this essay, we will be exploring dream theories proposed by Sigmund Freud who asserted the importance of internal stimuli and dreams as a form of wish fulfilment, and Carl G. Jung’s theory which suggested that dreams are bridges that allow one to connect with the unconscious. As such, a cross comparison will be also be done to explore the major similarities and differences between these two theories which remained influential in today’s study of dreams.
Views of Dreams – Carl G. Jung and Sigmund Freud
For centuries, dreams have been a source of mystery and regarded as divine. Dreams have been interpreted as prophecies, predictions of the future, or even symbols of current affairs. These beliefs existed for centuries until modern psychology evolved and gave rise to many theories that have attempted to give greater insight and understanding of how dreams work and how they relate to our daily lives. Dreams are otherwise defined as mental experiences during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep that have a story-like feature, include rich visual imagery, are often inexplicable, and perceived as real by the dreamer (Antrobus, 1993). There are many varying theories of dreams such as that posited by Antrobus, who suggests that dreams occur due to our brains’ interpretations of external stimuli during sleep. Another theory uses a computer metaphor to account for dreams, wherein a dream serves to remove unneeded trivialities from the memory – much like clean-up operations in a computer – in order to refresh the mind to prepare for the next day (Evans & Newman, 1964). However, for the purposes of this essay, we will be looking at two theories of dreams from Carl G. Jung and his mentor, Sigmund