The Dream Debate

In this debate, Hobson is most convincing. I agree with Hobson in that Freud’s dream theory is not psychological theory since he did not follow the scientific method; Freud did not form a hypothesis nor collect data. Without doing this, justifiable theories cannot be made. Using one’s own dreams as the sole subject to be analyzed is not sufficient. Psychoanalysis is unscientific since many of its theories are incapable of being tested. Many individuals must realize that claims must be demonstrated to be valid and reliable before they are defended, published, or accepted by the public.

I agree with Hobson’s claim that the randomness of dreams is due to the level of activation of specific brain structures; during sleep, there is chaotic activation of various structures, such as the brain stem. This contributes to the unpredictable nature of dreams. Therefore, dreams are not representative of repressed childhood desires or emotions.

Furthermore, Soames discusses Freud’s dream theory as “proven” and goes on to defend it. Nothing can be proven. By conducting many experiments that have been tested and deemed valid and reliable, we are occasionally able to demonstrate causality between two variables. However, more often than not, it is impossible to establish causation. Many factors/variables are correlated but not cannot be said to cause one another. This is relevant to this debate because many brain structures were mentioned to be involved with dreams. The activation of these structures may be correlated with the occurrence and/or remembering of dreams but they are not causing dreams.

Discussion Questions:

How did Freud demonstrate that dreams are driven by basic motivational states?

Soames claims that the “dream-thought is turned into a concrete picture and this is one of the reasons why dreams require interpretation.” By “concrete picture” does he mean memory? If so, it is a common misconception that “memories” are constructs.