On 23 November 2009, Edward Pollak drew attention to >NOVA PRESENTS >What Are Dreams >Tuesday, November 24 at 8pm ET/PT on NOVA
>Learn more about the Sleep-Memory Connection and ask Harvard >neuroscientist Robert your questions about sleep and dreaming on >the program's companion website. "Robert" is Robert Stickgold, a strong critic of Freud's theories of dreams who has "used sleep studies to disprove Freud's wish fulfillment theory. For instance how can nightmares about Iraq be considered as wish fulfillment dreams if a mother dreams of her son's death?" http://www.unclesirbobby.org.uk/robertstickgold.php Well, if Freud were alive to respond to the above question he would undoubtedly point out that Prof Stickgold fails to distinguish between the manifest dream and the latent dream. Only analysis can reveal the true meaning of the dream. It may be that on some occasion in the past the dreamer had had a passing wish which had been suppressed (Interpretation of Dreams, SE 4, p. 249). Then again, in relation to his own dream of the death of his son who at the time was at the front in WW1, in the course of giving a few salient points of his analysis he reports that "deeper analysis" enabled him to discover the "concealed impulse" behind the dream: "It was the envy which is felt for the young by those who have grown old, but which they believe they have completely stifled" (SE 4, pp. 558-560). Never let it be said that Freud doesn't have an answer to criticisms of his dream theory. :-) Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org ---------------------------------------------------------- Sent: Monday, November 23, 2009 3:07 PM To: NOVA Bulletin Subject: [NOVA] "What Are Dreams?" NOVA PRESENTS What Are Dreams Tuesday, November 24 at 8pm ET/PT on NOVA What are dreams and why do we have them? NOVA joins leading dream researchers as they embark on a variety of neurological and psychological experiments to investigate the world of sleep and dreams. Delving deep into the thoughts and brains of a variety of dreamers, scientists are asking important questions about the purpose of this mysterious realm we escape to at night. Do dreams allow us to get a good night's sleep? Do they improve memory? Do they allow us to be more creative? Can they solve our problems or even help us survive the hazards of everyday life? Learn more about the Sleep-Memory Connection and ask Harvard neuroscientist Robert your questions about sleep and dreaming on the program's companion website. Watch the program online beginning November 25 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/dreams/ --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
