Connection between Aristotle’s Theory of Sleep and Dreams to Modern and Contemporary Science

Posted: January 4th, 2023

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Connection between Aristotle’s Theory of Sleep and Dreams to Modern and Contemporary Science

Aristotle was born on 384 BC and died on 322 BC, and during his life the scholar developed many concepts that still influence people’s lives. Aristotle’s contribution to the causes of sleep and dreams remain valid in the modern times when debates still occur as to why people repose and dream (Gallop 3). Modern scientists still believe that all animals sleep although their patterns and durations may differ.  The works by Aristotle on sleep and dream serve as the foundation for the modern researchers and thinkers to understand how the natural occurrences happen.

Background Information

The need to understand the relationship between sleeping and dreaming started during the classical era in Greece. Many people often ask what sleep is and also question why people sleep. Many also question why people dream, and whether the dreams have any significant meaning. Humans from antiquity until today have wanted to know the processes that take place during sleep. They want to comprehend and explain why people spend nearly one-third of their lives in the periodic state of inactivity and rest. The ancient Greeks tried to find the meaning of sleep and dream by systematically conducting a number of researches. The Greeks believed their dreams had meaning sent from the gods, predicted future outcomes, had therapeutic capabilities, and were forms of communication with the dead (Papachristou 3). It is the reason why numerous theories and references of sleep and dreams can be located in the writings of classical Greek lyric and epic poets such as Pindar, Hesiod, and Homer, physicians such as Hippocrates, historians such as Herodotus, and dramatists such as Euripides and Sophocles (Papachristou 4). Dreams in the classical Greece became part of physiologic and philosophic investigations, and several pre-Socratic scholars such as Democritus, Empedocles, and Heraclitus came up with naturalistic descriptions on the causes of sleep and dreams, separating them from the supernatural.

Aristotle’s Theory of Sleep and Dreams

Sleep

The scientific and philosophical study of sleep and dreams in the Ancient Greece reached its peak in the works of Aristotle. The classical scholar developed most of his important psychophysical and philosophical concepts on sleep and dreams in three publications of the Aristotelian corpus; De Divinatione per Somnum, DeInsomniis, and De Somno et Vigilia.  The treaties are very essential because they give the only systematic and detailed account of prophesy in sleep and dreams that has been passed to the contemporary world from the past.

Aristotle looks at the functions of sleep and dreams in connection to the psychological and biological phenomena. The philosopher records in the first chapter of De Somno et Vigilia that sleep is a psychophysical condition that does not belong to either the body or soul alone (Gallop 34). Sleep, based on Aristotle’s perception, is not different to the creature’s physical nature. He said that unlike blindness or deafness, sleep is a natural state of both humans and animals. Aristotle described sleep as a natural state of a person or animal, or any other organism characterized by suspended or reduced physiological activities (Papachristou 6). Aristotle viewed sleep and waking up as bodily responses that require coordination of the body and soul, and is part of the primary sensing mechanism called common sense. Aristotle asserts in the treatise De Somno that all bodily organs that perform their functions naturally are incapable of functioning relentlessly (Papachristou 7). They become tired and no longer perform their duties. The eyes, for example, become unable to function well if they continue seeing beyond their functioning period and natural time. A living being becomes tired and develops the need to sleep if time is passed during which normal sensation is possible. Aristotle further describes in De Sommo that sleep arises from the collected hot matter (solid and moist) breathed out from consumed food (Papachristou 10). The exhaled hot solid and moist rise through the circulatory structure to the brain that is colder than the rest of the body, and where sleep originates. The brain then cools the hot matter making it to flow back the heart, thereby inducing sleep.

Aristotle adds that some other things may induce sleep. Narcotics, whether solid like opium poppy, or liquid substances, such as alcoholic beverages, may cause sleepiness. Other factors such as some type of tiredness, some diseases, and childhood may cause increased sleepiness (Papachristou 12). Moreover, dwarfs and people with large heads and dwarfs sleep a lot. Aristotle argued that children sleep a lot at early childhood because all their food goes upwards.

Aristotle offered descriptions that would help people understand how awakening happens because every person must wake up after sleeping for some duration. Aristotle asserts that awakening happens when digestion is complete (Papachristou 12). When a lot of heat that is accumulated from various parts of the body has taken over, and the thickest part of blood is differentiated from the purest, the thinnest form and the purest moves to the head, and the thickest and less purer in the lower parts of the body.

Dreams

Aristotle analyses dreams and examines to which part of the soul they occur. The philosopher believes that a dream is a form of phantasma, which is a type of mental image or representation that appears in sleep. He further notes that the sensitive is the same as the imaginative part of the soul, although they have some considerable variations, especially in their being.

Aristotle offers more information that helps to understand the nature of dreams and how they occur. He recognizes at the final parts of De Insomniis that dreams do not occur immediately after consuming food, and to infants or very young children. The philosopher further notices that there are some individuals who do not experience dreams at all, and others who are late dreamers meaning that they only started to experience dreams very late in life (Papachristou 16). Further, he acknowledges that dreams are not divine, although they may occur as causes, coincidences, or signs. The scholar in his treatise De Divinatione per Somnum recognizes that dreams sometimes predict the future, and does not accept the popular assumption that dreams have divinatory powers. The philosopher refutes the claim that God is responsible for sending dreams because other animals that do not have a mind or are not intellectual also dream (Hulkskamp and Ejik). Aristotle does not accept that God is the sender of dreams because even ordinary people with low intellectual and moral capacities and more so those whose nature is melancholic and garrulous have clear dreams about the future (Papachristou 18). Hence, if God was the sender of dreams, then only those with intellectual and moral values to the highest standard would experience dreams.

Aristotle accepts that some dreams could reflect the truth, which may be necessary to pay some attention to dreams sometimes. The philosopher believes that some dreams may be signs of events occurring in the dreamer’s body. It is the reason why physicians could sometimes urge their patients to focus on some dreams, because they can assist in medical diagnosis (Papachristou 19). The dreams may also influence a person’s actions during the day, which insinuates that some dreams may be both causes and signs. The scholar supports the view that most dreams are coincidences, particularly all those which transcendental, or where the dream does not occur from within the dreamer, such as in the scenario of a battle. He argues that when a person sees a dream, which is not ordinary in either magnitude, place, or time, this is because of an effect like a ripple in water or air, where the initial sensation and impulse after moving over a great distance reach the dreamer’s soul.

The Views of Modern and Contemporary Science on Sleep and Dream

Examination by various scholars reveals considerable similarities between the Aristotelian and contemporary views on sleep and dreams. The similarities indicate that even a couple of millennia of technological and scientific advancement have not altered the primary human observations from which research and theory started (Papachristou 20). Researchers in the contemporary time still believe that sleep is important in maintaining physiological and cognitive performance (Reinhardt et al. 1). The ancient philosopher, for example, asserts that nearly all animals, whether they are terrestrial, winged, or aquatic have the ability to sleep. He argues that all forms of insects, fish, mollusks and every other organism that has eyes sleep (Smith et al.). Some of these creatures sleep for very short duration, which may not be easy for a person to observe their sleeping pattern and duration (Papachristou 20). He claims that it is not easy to judge whether testeceans such as oysters and mussels, sleep or not, but thinks that all creatures that have sensation are able to sleep and wake up.

Contemporary researchers and scientists share the belief that nearly all animals, winged, terrestrial, and aquatic sleep. Researchers in the contemporary time continue to observe sleep patterns in practically all forms of mollusks and fish, and in all other creatures that have eyes. Modern science reveals that even insects and hard-eyed animals sleep, but their duration may be slightly shorter so that one may doubt whether they repose or not (Papachristou 21). Modern researches shed more light on the sleeping patterns of various creatures because it is now evident that fish, insects, mollusks, and hard-shelled animals sleep, but not in the same manner as birds and animals do because fish lack eyelids (apart from shark), they repose with their eyes open.

Contemporary thinkers give more insight into the nature of sleep, which adds onto the knowledge Aristotle offers on the subject. J. Horne’s, for example, developed the restorative theory in 1988 to provide more awareness on why people sleep. Horne believes that sleep falls into core and optional sleep. Core sleep is necessary for the maintenance and restoration of the brain, while optional sleep is not compulsory for normal operations of the body or brain (Papachristou 24). Further, evidence from recent researches indicate that feeding programs can influence sleep-wake cycles, which affirm Aristotle’s claim that ingestion of food mostly induces sleep. Acerbi, Mcnamara and Nunn (2) believe that the psychological advantages of sleep will vary considerably as required by the organism. The correlations offer tangible evidence that the developments by Aristotle continue to influence modern science and research.

Modern researchers agree with Aristotle that some dreams might have meaning because the idea that lucid dreams exist gets support from different scholars. The integration of psychic functions in lucid dreams is complete such that the sleeper relates with his or her everyday situations, and achieves a state of perfect awareness (Papachristou 29). Foulkes (609) refers to dream as the dreamer’s reflection and concept of self and the world. Many contemporary thinkers still try to identify the effects of dreams on mental operations and think that the mechanisms causing dreams are unclear (Ruby), many researchers have opted to view dreams as the effects if unregulated neural activities (Franklin and Zyphur 59). Modern researchers also believe that dreams have some significance because they instigate some past memories (Graveline and Wamsley 98). It is the reason why modern thinkers still refer to the works by Aristotle to acquire more insight into how dreams occur and their effects on individuals.

Contrary Opinions

Aristotle argues that all animals sleep although some modern researches reveal some contradictory opinions. Papachristou (21) gives the example of testacea that gives no tangible evidence the organism sleeps. Despite the ongoing debates as to whether all creatures sleep or not, modern scientists and researchers tend believe that sleeping is compulsory because of the sensations in these creatures, that may not function without relaxing.

Conclusion

The developments by Aristotle regarding sleep and dreaming serve as key foundation for contemporary researchers and scientists who try to understand these natural phenomena. Modern researchers and scientists share the Aristotelian view that all creatures sleep because they have sensation. They also agree that the sleep patterns in animals tend to vary. Contemporary researchers also concur with Aristotle’s perception that some dreams have meaning and may influence a person’s mental activities.

Works Cited

Acerbi, Alberto, Mcnamara Patrick and Nunn Charles. “To Sleep or not to Sleep: The Ecology of Sleep in Artificial Organisms.” BMC Ecology, vol. 8, no. 1, 2008, pp. 1 – 12.doi: 10.1186/1472-6785-8-10

Foulkes, David. “Sleep and Dreams.” Sleep, vol. 19, no. 8, 1996, pp. 609-624.

Franklin, Michael and Zyphur Michael. “The Role of Dreams in the Evolution of the Human Mind.” Evolutionary Psychology, vol. 3, 2005, pp. 59 – 78. doi: 10.1177/147470490500300106

Gallop, David. Aristotle on Sleep and Dreams. Aris & Phillips Ltd, 1996.

Graveline, Yvette and Wamsley Erin. “Dreaming and Waking Cognition.” Translational Issues in Psychological Science, vol. 1, no. 1, 2015, pp. 97 – 105.

Hulkskamp, Maithe and Ejik Philip. Stages in the Reception of Aristotle’s Work on Sleep and Dreams in Hellenistic and Imperial Philosophical and Medical Thought. https://books.openedition.org/psorbonne/17640?lang=en

Papachristou, Christina. “Aristotle’s Theory of ‘Sleep and Dreams’ in the Light of Modern and Contemporary Experimental Research.”Electronic Journal for Philosophy, 2014, pp. 1 – 47. doi: 10.18267/j.e-logos.374

Reinhardt, Kathleen et al.  “Environment Shapes and Sleep Patterns in a Wild Nocturnal Primate.” Scientific Reports, 2019, pp. 1 – 13. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-45852-2  

Ruby, Perrine. “Experimental Research on Dreaming: State of the Art and Neuropsychoanalytic Perspectives.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 2, no. 286, 2011, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00286

Smith, Bradley et al. “The Prevalence and Implications of Human-Animal Co-Sleeping in an Australian Sample.” Anthrozoos A Multidisciplinary Journal of the Interactions of People & Animals, vol. 27, no. 4, 2014, doi: 10.2752/089279314×14072268687880