Dreams

Abstract

Dreams have long connected mankind to an unknown dimension and fascinated human beings for thousands of years, thus inspiring them to realize a potential within themselves and to delve into the mysteries of what must have seemed an incomprehensible world. References to dreams can be found in ancient civilization such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome; however, it is easy to imagine that dreams inspired humanity way before and guided the great strides in human development such as the discovery of fire, the homo-sapiens migration out of Africa, and the cave art found throughout Europe.

Although the outlook on dreams has changed towards history, the common thread from the ancient civilizations to our modern times is the impression that dreams connect us with another world which can generally be identified with a beyond that transcends human contingences and yet is concerned with them. Be they messages from the gods, from the dead, or from the unconscious, dreams intervene to support and guide human life with a symbolic language that needs interpretation. The attempt to understand the oneiric language is another thread that runs throughout the history of dreams and points to the need for humans to search for meaning.

This entry presents a short history of dreams, which highlights the human relationship to the beyond, from the ancient civilizations to the more recent psychodynamic approaches in psychology, with particular attention to Freud and Jung. It also shows how dreams express and foster the possible in many ways: Through their symbolic and multilayered language and through their connection to the unconscious, they inspire creativity in artists and in daily life, influence scientific discoveries, and culture.