Physiology of Dreaming
C Timo‐Iaria, Angela C. Valle
Sleep Science June 1, 2009 DOI: 10.1055/s-0046-1820477 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key points | Argues that ancient Greek thinkers, including Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, rejected mystical and mythic explanations of dreams, holding instead that dreams were not caused by spirits, ghosts, or gods. Aristotle observed several animal species asleep and noted that their body-part movements resembled those humans perform while dreaming. |
Abstract
Dreaming has been a subject of cogitation since remote Antiquity. In ancient Greece, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle discussed about the meaning of dreams, concluding that the prevailing mistic and mythic concepts about them were incorrect. Instead, they thought that dreams were not provoked by spirits, ghosts or gods, which took over the mind to express themselves through dreaming. Aristotle[ 1 ], who had carefully observed several animal species while asleep, noticed that movements of several of their body parts were quite similar to those performed by humans during dreaming.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dreaming: a conceptual framework for philosophy of mind and empirical research | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Metaphor and hyperassociativity: the imagination mechanisms behind emotion assimilation in sleep and dreaming | 2015 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Varieties of Lucid Dreaming Experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Experimental Research on Dreaming: State of the Art and Neuropsychoanalytic Perspectives | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Neurobiology of Consciousness: Lucid Dreaming Wakes Up | 2009 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |