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Desislava Nikolova
Dr. Chalk
ENG 102d
March 19, 2014
Annotated Bibliography
1. Ichikawa, Jonathan. “Scepticism and the Imagination Model of Dreaming.” The
Philosophical Quarterly 58.2 (2008): 519-527. Print.
Jonathan Ichikawa claims that skepticism exists when dreams are addressed. The idea is
that our dreams do not represent false beliefs, but are rather imaginary objects and
sensations. He mentions and elaborates on the idea about skepticism, the imagination
model and the subjective distinguishability. This article’s purpose is to reveal the
difference between imaginations and beliefs in terms of our dreams and even to persuade
that dreams are actually imaginations. It is written for a scholarly audience, familiar with
the bases of philosophy. Although there are sections which sound subjective, the author’s
motif is to refer dreams to the philosophical and skeptical ideas from his time. This is a
viable source because it is scholarly and peer-reviewed. The text will be used as a
counterargument to the idea that dreams are not random imaginings, but have a purpose.
2. Macduffie, Katherine and George A. Mashour. “Dreams and the Temporality of
Consciousness.” The American Journal of Psychology 123.2 (2010): 189-197. Print.
Macduffie and Mashour reveal that dreams encompass three dimensions, perception of
the present, connecting to the past and preparation for the future. They examine in detail
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each of these 3 dimensions, connecting them to ideas of Freud. The article also elaborates
on the generation of sleep and wakefulness and the differences between REM and
NREM. The article’s goal is to teach the three ways dreams apply to real life, the
dimensions present, past and future; it is targeted toward the general audience interested
in psychology. However, it is reliable because it is peer- reviewed. I will use it to
contextualize the practical implications of dreams.
3. Stickhold, Robert. “The Function of Dreaming.” Phi Kappa Phi Forum 93.2 (2013): 1113. Print.
Robert Stickhold emphasizes that dreaming has man practical connections. The core of
this speculation is that it helps generate information for the dreamer. Stickhold further
examines the facts that sleep and dreams solidify our memories, gather the most
important information we have perceived during the day, and organize the information
already gathered by our brains. This article is for the general audience and its goal is to
teach general knowledge about dreams and sleep and how they affect our perception of
information. It does not have a solid motif because it’s purpose is to objectively ilustrate,
but still it is reliable because it is peer-reviewed.
4. Mullane, Harvey. “Defense, Dreams and Rationality.” Synthese 57.2 (1983): 187-203.
Print.
Mullane argues that dreams are viewed as means of unconscious defense. They are
products of the ego, which help people reflect on ideas and memories they need a defense
from. This main point is revealed through the discussion of ideas such as dreams and
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their power to reveal symptoms and to prove some disruptions in people’s minds. The
author also elaborates on Freud’s lectures, the “insentient forces”, and reflexes. This
article’s goal is to teach the reader the interconnection between unconscious defense and
dreams, arguing that dreams themselves are a form of self-defense and part of the
unconscious mind. It is targeted toward the scholarly audience interested in
Psychological and Philosophical texts, such as Freud’s. Its motif is to prove that Freud’s
theories are applicable, meaning that dreams should be connected towards the
unconscious aspect of the mind. Thus the article could have some bias, meaning that the
author could subjectively express his favor for Freud. Another minor issue is that the
article is not very recent, but it is published in the 1980s. However, it is scholarly, peerreviewed and reliable, and I plan to use it as a counterargument to the current theories
that dreams are actually a product of the conscious mind.
5. Sosa, Ernest. “Dreams and Philosophy.” Proceedings and Addresses of the American
Philosophical Association 79.2 (2005): 7-18. Print.
Ernest Sosa shares a contemporary view that when dreaming one does not believe the
subject of the dream, but only imagines it; this is an idea shared by many philosophers.
The author illustrates this point by pointing out that we surely do not believe the states we
come to be in while dreaming, such as being a robber, because if we really did, we
would be accused of crime and robbery, which is not the case. Sosa also discusses
Descartes’ skepticism, some facts from the science of sleep and dreaming and the
Imagination model. The goal of the article is to persuade the reader that imagination lies
beneath dreaming and that indivisuals actually do not believe their dreams; it gives many
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examples to prove this point. The text is written for the general audience. Sosa’s motif is
to deny wrong assumptions about dreaming, but without being too subjective and
judgmental. The article is published by the Brown University Press and it is perreviewed, so it’s definitely a viable source. My intention is to use this article so that I
contextualize the idea about skepticism and the imagination model of dreaming.
6. Valli, Katja. “Dreams are more negative than real life: Implications for the function of
dreaming.” Cognition and Emotion 22.5 (2008): 833-861. Print.
Valli, Strandholm, etc. claim that emotions from the real life are in a close relationship
with dreaming. The negative emotions in dreaming are much more powerful than those
from real life. The authors address these issues by discussing various proposed ideas,
such as the one about the dominance of negative emotions in the brain, the recreational
function of dreaming, and dreams’ function to prepare us for the distressing occurrences
in our waking sage. The article is written for the general audience, and its goal is to teach
and illustrate some of the practical functions of dreaming, which are connected to
emotions from the waking stage. Its motif is to convince that there is practicality in
dreams that most people forget about. The article is viable because it is peer-reviewed
and my intention is to use it to contextualize the functions of dreaming and as specific,
detailed information, since the text itself is a broad study with hypotheses, analysis and
conclusion.
7. Schredl, Michel and Daniel Erlacher. “Self-Reported Effects of Dreams on Waking-Life
Creativity: An Empirical Study.” Journal of Psychology 141.1 (2007): 35-46. Print.
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Michel Schredl and Daniel Erlacher describe a study for observation of the creativity of
people and whether their dreams had any correlation with the development of their
creativity. It turns out that there is a strong link. There are dreams which stimulate
people’s creativity, and this occurrence has a considerable impact on people’s lives. The
study makes this generalization through the investigation of the ways dreams have effects
on creativity, such as involvement of images in the creative work of an individual, the
lessons dreams sometimes teach and the problems they solve, and the emotional insights
they pose. This article is written for the general audience, and its goal is to reveal the
correlation between creativity and dreams. It does not have any motif, but it is reliable
because it is scholarly and peer-reviewed. I intend to use it to contextualize the functions
of dreams and to provide specific and detailed information, for example the results of the
study, presented in the article.
8. Flanagan, Owen. Dreaming Souls: Sleep, Dreams, and the Evolution of the Conscious Mind.
Cary: Oxford UP, 2001. Ebsco Host. Web. 18 March 2014.
Owen Flanagan shares his personal beliefs that sleep in general many biological functions
for the body; however, according to him dreams have no biological function. The author
elaborates on this point using ideas about the absence of wish-fulfillment in dreams, the
importance of dreams and their usefulness. The book is for audience, interested in dream
interpretation and the philosophy of the mind. Its goal is to shed some light on the subject
of the actual function of dreams. Possibly the motif of the author is to reject Freud’s
conclusions and to set forth his own; thus the book indeed has some sections, where the
evaluations are rather subjective. However, it is a reliable source because it is peer-
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reviewed and is issued by the Oxford University Press. I intend to use it to contextualize
the topic about functions of dreams.
9. Kahn, David and J. Allan Hobson. “Self-organization and the Dreaming Brain.” Harvard
Mental Health Letter 10.11 (1994): 1-3. Ebsco Host. Web. 21 Mar. 2007.
David Kahn and Allan Hobson discuss the process of organization in the brain, the role
dreams play in this organization and the way dreams themselves are created. The authors
reveal these processes by first introducing the ideas about chaos and organization, then by
addressing these to dreams and then by discussing the activities of the brain during sleep.
The article is for educated audience in the fields of biology and psychology. Its goal is to
reveal the way dreams are created, but does not have a motif, as it is very descriptive. It is
relevant and viable because it is scholarly and peer-reviewed. My intention is to use the
article as aggregate information about how the dream arises in the brain. Another option
is not preferable because the article is loaded with technical terms.
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