Andrew Baxter is a generally overlooked philosopher of the first half of the eighteenth century, known almost exclusively for his critique of Berkeleyan idealism. In this paper, I show that he was much more than just a critic of his immediate predecessors, by setting out his undeservedly ignored theory of dreaming and demonstrating its depth, originality as well as its potential to challenge...
This paper presents and examines Andrew Baxter’s theory of the origin of dreams. In an essay of over 200 pages, he explores various conceptions and accounts of dreaming, develops a distinctive and elaborate theory of their occurrence, and arrives at the striking conclusion that all dreams are produced by external spirits or immaterial (ghost-like) agents. Remarkably, this extraordinary...