Medicine and philosophy - Classical Homeopathy Online

170 Aristotle and his schoolof experience is dreaming, and how is it related to other mental processessuch as thinking and perceiving?In the fifth and the fourth centuries bce we can see a growing concernwith the nature of dreams and with the kind of information they werebelieved to provide among philosophers (Heraclitus, Plato, Democritus),physicians (such as the Hippocratic author just quoted), poets (Pindar)and historians (Herodotus). In this context of intellectual and theoreticalreflection on the phenomenon of dreaming, Aristotle’s two works OnDreams (Insomn.) and On Divination in Sleep (Div. somn.) stand out forcontaining the only systematic account of dreams and of prophecy in sleepthat has been transmitted to us from antiquity. 5 Short as they are (coveringnot more than six pages in the Bekker edition), these works are extremelyrich and condensed, and they are very valuable sources for our knowledgeof the ways in which Aristotle applies some of his more prominenttheoretical notions about the soul and its various ‘parts’ or ‘powers’ (suchas ‘imagination’, the ‘common sense’, etc.) to the analysis of specific psychicphenomena. At the same time, Aristotle’s style in these treatises ischaracteristically elliptical, and they present numerous problems of interpretation.In this chapter I will of course say something about the contents ofthis theory and its connection with other parts of Aristotle’s work; butthe emphasis will be on the methodology which Aristotle adopts in thesewritings. First, I will deal with how Aristotle arrived at his theory, withparticular consideration of the relation between theoretical presuppositionsand empirical observations in both works. We know that Aristotle in hisbiological works often insists on the importance of collecting empiricalevidence in order to substantiate ‘theories’ or ‘accounts’ (logoi) of nature.He sometimes takes other thinkers to task for their lack of concern withempirical corroboration of their theories, or he even accuses his opponentsof manipulating the facts in order to make them consistent with theirtheories. 6 But we also know that Aristotle is often to be blamed for thevery defects he is criticising in other thinkers. 7 Hence it may be properto examine what empirical claims Aristotle makes concerning dreams andwhat part they play in the course of his argument.My second question concerns the ratio underlying Aristotle’s treatment,especially the selection of topics he deals with and the order in which they are5 For a translation with introduction and commentary of these works see van der Eijk (1994); see alsoPigeaud (1995); Gallop (1996) (a revised edition of his [1990]); Dönt (1997); Morel (2000); Repici(2003).6 See, e.g., Gen. an. 760 b 27–32. 7 See Lloyd (1978) and (1979).