170 Aristotle and his school
of experience is dreaming, and how is it related to other mental processes
such as thinking and perceiving?
In the fifth and the fourth centuriesbcewe can see a growing concern
with the nature of dreams and with the kind of information they were
believed 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 theoreti-
cal reflection on the phenomenon of dreaming, Aristotle’s two worksOn
Dreams(Insomn.) andOn Divination in Sleep(Div. somn.) stand out for
containing the only systematic account of dreams and of prophecy in sleep
that has been transmitted to us from antiquity.^5 Short as they are (covering
not more than six pages in the Bekker edition), these works are extremely
rich and condensed, and they are very valuable sources for our knowl-
edge of the ways in which Aristotle applies some of his more prominent
theoretical notions about the soul and its various ‘parts’ or ‘powers’ (such
as ‘imagination’, the ‘common sense’, etc.) to the analysis of specific psy-
chic phenomena. At the same time, Aristotle’s style in these treatises is
characteristically elliptical, and they present numerous problems of inter-
pretation.
In this chapter I will of course say something about the contents of
this theory and its connection with other parts of Aristotle’s work; but
the emphasis will be on the methodology which Aristotle adopts in these
writings. First, I will deal with how Aristotle arrived at his theory, with
particular consideration of the relation between theoretical presuppositions
and empirical observations in both works. We know that Aristotle in his
biological works often insists on the importance of collecting empirical
evidence in order to substantiate ‘theories’ or ‘accounts’ (logoi) of nature.
He sometimes takes other thinkers to task for their lack of concern with
empirical corroboration of their theories, or he even accuses his opponents
of manipulating the facts in order to make them consistent with their
theories.^6 But we also know that Aristotle is often to be blamed for the
very defects he is criticising in other thinkers.^7 Hence it may be proper
to examine what empirical claims Aristotle makes concerning dreams and
what part they play in the course of his argument.
My second question concerns theratiounderlying Aristotle’s treatment,
especially the selection of topics he deals with and the order in which they are
(^5) For a translation with introduction and commentary of these works see van der Eijk ( 1994 ); see also
Pigeaud ( 1995 ); Gallop ( 1996 ) (a revised edition of his [ 1990 ]); D ̈ont ( 1997 ); Morel ( 2000 ); Repici
( 2003 ).
(^6) See, e.g.,Gen. an. 760 b 27 – 32. (^7) See Lloyd ( 1978 ) and ( 1979 ).