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Saturday, October 17, 2026

Aristotle on dreams--copied and pasted from wikipedia--

Dreams
Further information: Dream § Other
Aristotle describes sleep in On Sleep and Wakefulness.[135] It is a result of overuse of the senses[136] or of digestion,[137] and is vital to the body.[136] While a person is asleep, the critical activities, which include thinking, sensing, recalling and remembering, do not function. Since a person cannot sense during sleep, they cannot have desire. However, the senses work during sleep,[136] albeit differently.[135]
Dreams do not involve sensing a stimulus. Sensation is involved, but in an altered manner.[136] Aristotle explains that when a person stares at a moving stimulus such as the waves in a body of water, and then looks away, the next thing they look at appears to have a wavelike motion. When a person perceives a stimulus and it is no longer the focus of their attention, it leaves an impression.[135] When the body is awake, a person constantly encounters new stimuli and so the impressions of previous stimuli are ignored.[136] However, during sleep the impressions made throughout the day are noticed, free of distractions.[135] So, dreams result from these lasting impressions. Since impressions are all that are left, dreams do not resemble waking experience.[138] During sleep, a person is in an altered state of mind, like a person who is overtaken by strong feelings. For example, a person who has a strong infatuation with someone may begin to think they see that person everywhere. Since a person sleeping is in a suggestible state and unable to make judgements, they become easily deceived by what appears in their dreams, like the infatuated person.[135] This leads them to believe the dream is real, even when the dreams are absurd.[135] In De Anima iii 3, Aristotle ascribes the ability to create, to store, and to recall images to the faculty of imagination, phantasia.[119]
One component of Aristotle's theory disagrees with previously held beliefs. He claimed that dreams are not foretelling and not sent by a divine being. Aristotle reasoned that instances in which dreams resemble future events are simply coincidences.[139] Any sensory experience perceived while a person is asleep, such as actually hearing a door close, does not qualify as part of a dream. Images of dreams must be a result of lasting impressions of waking sensory experiences.[138]