A personal dream vocabulary

The argument

Different objects have different meanings to different cultures. These meanings can change over time, and that variability is the obstacle. Even if there is a link between real-world experiences and dreams, it would be impossible to accurately interpret this link because it would depend entirely on the individual's relationship with that object, rather than on any general code an interpreter could learn and apply. For example, if I have a dream in which I am using a pair of crutches to stabilise my walking, it might be a positive omen. I may have been forced to use crutches during a particularly formative period of my life and associate them with immense personal development, so the image would carry that association wherever it appeared. Another person, however, may have been badly beaten with a crutch at some point in their life. The appearance of a pair of crutches in their dream may have an entirely different meaning. The image is identical in both cases; only the history behind it differs, and it is the history that supplies the meaning. That is why the problem cannot be solved by compiling a better dictionary of symbols. We each have our own dream vocabulary and language, assembled out of experiences that no two people share. Without having access to every detail of someone's culture and personal experience — not a summary of it but the whole of it, including associations the dreamer may not be able to articulate themselves — it is impossible to understand and translate someone else's dream vocabulary. Therefore, dream interpretations carried out by someone else cannot possibly give an accurate interpretation.

Context

We don’t all have the same pool of experiences to draw from or the same cultural associations. Therefore, one dream can mean one thing for one person and another thing for another person.

Premises

Counter-arguments

Even though the same dreams have different meanings for different people, it is possible to accurately interpret them. By simply working through a person’s relationship with an object, it is possible to understand the meaning of a dream. In the example of Freud’s patient. Freud knew that his patient frequently referred to his sister-in-law as a dog. Therefore, when the patient dreamt of strangling a dog, Freud was able to accurately infer that his patient was harbouring a secret desire to kill his sister-in-law. Some methods of dream interpretation can also reveal the individual’s personal dream vocabulary. For example, hypnotherapy allows the dream interpreter to interact with the subconscious mind. He or she may ask questions and get the dreamer to explain their personal dream vernacular.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] It is possible to understand enough of a person's relationship with something to produce an accurate dream interpretation.