Facing the hydra

: An examination of the otherness of dreams and its pedagogical role in the humanities

Abstract

This thesis critically examines different ontologies of dreaming in order to propose an acceptable reading of the otherness of dreams in the current academic context. In order to achieve this, I analyse some of the foundational criticisms of dreaming (both religious and scientific) which have shaped our society’s understanding of it. I counteract these critiques by showing a vast academic tradition which attempts to restore understandings of the dream and the imagination as a significant other, using the work of thinkers like James Hillman, Carl Jung, and Jeffrey Kripal. I argue for the importance of otherness in ethical contexts and the way in which otherness bestows responsibility on us, using the work of Wendy Farley. The work of Geoffrey Cornelius on the nature of historical practices of divination is used to establish a contact between prophetic and analytical traditions of dream interpretation. Furthermore, this thesis connects the emerging relationship between transformative education and spiritual experience in the work of authors like Elizabeth Tisdell with the possibility that dreams may occupy a fundamental role when regarded as teacher-prophets. This thesis’s contribution is a novel methodological disposition that challenges the current epistemic limits of dreaming. This framework allows the otherness of dreams to be theorised in academic terms and its heuristic possibilities to be integrated with emerging understandings in the humanities.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Canterbury Christ Church University