This article talks about whether there's an "adaptive purpose" to dreaming and if so what is it. It discusses 6 different theories/ perspectives. Interesting stuff: Here's the link

http://www.scientific...

Thanks Marlo, I'm looking forward to reading this article closely and getting useful ideas.

There's a lot about dreams on youtube I just discovered, but buyer beware, many seem to be hyping a particular group or service:
http://www.youtube.co...

Thanks for contributing this article to the discussion board, Marlo. I found the article to be very interesting. The theories presented are plausible, but they are not mutually exclusive, and I disagree with the basic premise and conclusions of the article.

First of all the author starts with the premise that dreams are filled with meaningless garbage. He does not quote any studies to prove this assumption. He only quotes his own unexamined personal dreams as anecdotal evidence. Then he quotes a Harvard Psychologist who states that Freudian psychology and Jungian psychology are inconsistent with Darwinian evolution. Again without any evidence to support the claim, other than the opinion of one psychologist. The psychologist only examined various theories and came to her own conclusions. The theories themselves are based on studies, but Freudian and Jungian theories are themselves based upon case studies also.

One problem I have with many scientists is they tend to use reductive reasoning. Scientists tend to believe their theories to be mutually exclusive. They do not allow for the possibility that dreams may serve many functions in our lives. I believe this to be a mistake. My own experience with dreams and an overwhelming preponderance of the dream literature, including dream research, supports the idea that dreams serve many purposes. Far from being meaningless, dreams are overflowing with deep and profound meanings.