JUNG'S DREAM THEORY

JUNG'S DREAM THEORY

The dream theory of Carl G. Jung (1875-1961) Is one of the most important and widely influen- tial dream theories in modern depth psychology (that branch of psychology that studies the un- conscious as its main object) . Jung, a Swiss medi- cal doctor, was at one time Freud's closest friend and leading student; however, Jung and Freud had a bitter falling out in 1914, in part because of

their different theories of the nature and function of dreams (see FREUD'S DREAM THEORY) .

In Jung's view, dreams are the direct, natural expression of the current condition of the dreamer's mental world. Jung rejected Freud's claim that dreams intentionally disguise their meanings; rather, Jung believed that the nature of dreams is to present "a spontaneous self- portrayal, in symbolic form, of the actual situa- tion in the unconscious" (Jung, 1967, Vol . 8, par. 505) . Jung claimed that dreams speak in a dis- tinctive language of symbols, images, and meta- phors, a language that is the unconscious mind's natural means of expression . We have trouble un- derstanding dreams, Jung said, only because this symbolic language Is so different from the Ian-* guage of our waking consciousness.

Dreams sometimes portray the dreamer's rela- tion with the external world, that Is, with the people, events, and activities of the dreamer's daily life. Jung called this the objective level of a dream's meaning. At other times, dreams portray the dreamer's inner world; the dream figures are' personifications of thoughts and feelings within the dreamer's own psyche . This, Jung said, is the subjectivelevel of a dream's meaning. Jung criti- cized Freud for acknowledging only the objective level; the true nature of dreams, Jung believed, is to portray both these levels of the dreamer's life .

Jung stated that dreams serve two functions. One function Is to compensatefor imbalances in the dreamer's psyche. Dreams bring forth uncon- scious contents that consciousness has either ig- nored, depreciated, or actively repressed . For example, if a person is overly intellectual, his or her dreams will work to balance this conscious excess by bringing forth images of the psyche's more emotion-oriented contents. According to

Jung, when the dreamer recognizes and accepts these unconscious contents, greater psychologi- cal balance is achieved . The second function of dreams is to provideprospective images of the fu- ture. Jung agrees with Freud that dreams may look backward to past experiences, but he argues that dreams also look forward to anticipate what the dreamer's future developments may be . Jung did not mean that dreams predict the future, only that dreams can suggest what might happen, what possibilities the future might hold. Ultimately, Jung believed that dreams function to promote the most important developmental . process of human life, namely, the uniting of consciousness and the unconscious in a healthy, harmonious

state of wholeness. Jung calls this process indi- viduation, the "complete actualization of the whole human being" (Jung, 1967, Vol . 16, par.

352) . One of the most distinctive features of Jung's

theory of dreams is his claim that dreams express not just'personal contents, but also collective or universal contents. Jung believed that dreams fre- quently contain archetypes, universal psychic images that underlie all human thought . (Com- mon archetypal figures described by Jung are the wise old man, the great mother, the trickster, the divine child, and the shadow.) Archetypes reflect a natural wisdom deep within the human uncon- scious; archetypal images in dreams can provide the dreamer with special insights and guidance along the path toward individuation . Jung be- lieved that the world's religious and mythologi- cal traditions contain a wealth of archetypal images, and he refers to . these traditions in de- scribing the nature and function of dreams .

Jung's dream theory has been criticized for being perilously close to mysticism and the oc- cult. Jung insisted, however, that his theory of dreams is based on strictly empirical obser- vations. He claimed to have interpreted over

80,000 dreams during his almost 60 years of clinical practice; Jung said his theory simply at- tempts to describe and classify the dream phe- nomena he had observed.

REFERENCES

Homans P. 1979. Jung in context.Chicago: Univer- sity of Chicago Press. A study of Jung's relationship with Freud.

Jung CG.1965. Memories, dreams, reflections.New York: Vintage. Jung's autobiography, filled with dream accounts ; esse:ttial to understanding his life and theories.

.1967. Man and his symbols.New York: Dell. Jung's last work, an explanation of his psychology

In nontechnical terms. .1967. The collected works of C.G. Jung.

Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1967. Jung discusses dreams throughout the 18 volumes of his writings. The key works on dreams are the fol-

lowing: General Aspects of Dream Psychology, Vol. 8 ; On the Nature of Dreams, Vol . 8; The Practical Use of Dream Analysis, Vol . 16; Individual Dream Symbolism in Relation to Alchemy, Vol. 12; Two Es- says on Analytical Psychology, Vol. 7.

Samuels A. 1985.Jung and the postjunglans. Lon- don: Routledge & Kegan Paul . Describes post-

Jungian dream theories.

Kelly Bulkley