Evolution of a Psychoanalytic Conception of Intersubjective Dreaming: Fechner, James, Jung, Bion, and Spotnitz
D. Gilhooley
Psychoanalytic Perspectives September 2, 2026 DOI: 10.1080/1551806x.2026.2704421 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Key points | Argues that the author's dream of an underworld journey with his deceased parents was intersubjectively linked to his patient's life, and proposes that symbiosis and mimesis regressively recreate the conditions for "intersubjective dreaming" and mutual dreams, with this imitative, symmetrical reflection within a symbiotic mental state suggested as the basis of telepathy. |
Abstract
The author analyzes a dream of an underworld journey undertaken with his deceased parents. Coincident with this dream is an e-mail communication from a patient whose son had recently died and whose wife is currently undergoing treatment for a fatal condition. Last year, at the time of the son’s death, the author and his patient had had a mutual dream of “waking up dead.” Now, realizing his current dream has as much to do with his patient’s life as his own, the author explores the idea of an “intersubjective dream,” weaving together theoretical perspectives of Gustav Fechner, William James, Carl Jung, Wilfred Bion, and Hyman Spotnitz. Using empirical research on mutual dreams, he proposes that a combination of symbiosis and mimesis regressively recreate the conditions for intersubjective dreaming and mutual dreams, and suggests this imitative process of symmetrical reflection within a symbiotic mental state is the basis of telepathy.
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 |