Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- In the 1899 edition of The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud offered very few examples of symbols that seemed to mean the same thing in all dreams—arguing instead that the individual dreamer's own associations were always key. But by the 1914 edition of the book, he was listing dozens and dozens of "common" dream symbols. Which argument do you think is stronger? The one that makes room for "common" symbols, or the one that does without?
- Freud thought that the Oedipus complex was universal—something experienced by all children in all cultures, ancient and modern. Many of his critics have argued, though, that because Freud's theory emerged from middle-class life in turn-of-the-century Vienna, it tells us more about family dynamics in that particular time and place than it does about childhood development in general. What do you think? Does Freud successfully prove that the Oedipus complex is a universal phenomenon in early childhood development?
- In The Interpretation of Dreams, how well does Freud support his thesis that all dreams are wish-fulfillments? Do you buy his argument?
- Throughout The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud supports his argument by turning to many examples from literature, opera, and other artistic media. Why do cultural works like these play such important roles in his thinking?
- Here's a fun one. Ten years after playing Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Viggo Mortensen played Freud in A Dangerous Method. What might Freud have said about all of the "child-figures," "mother-figures," and "father-figures" in The Lord of the Rings?
- Can you think of any novels, poems, plays, or films in which dreams or dreaming have been represented in a Freudian way?
- Do androids dream of electric sheep?