4 ms·

Is it just me, or is that bull dream obviously a fear about infidelity (at least by any psychoanalytical interpretation)?

dshipper 4y ago
OP here. That’s fascinating! Can you tell me where I can read about this? I don’t have any conscious fears of infidelity…
- zug_zug 4y ago
  Well Freud in general tended to sexualize everything. He said people chiefly had two motivations - sex and killing. You can read scans his books for free online, but I don't think they really hold up. But I think "bull" is slang for a man participating in infidelity (not sure if your subconscious was aware of this). I think there's some symbolism around horns in particular in numerous languages (and the origin of some offensive hand gestures). So you have this describedly masculine and physically stronger presence in your house you don't know how to remove, along with the wife's pregnancy, of course Freud would jump fears of infidelity or inadequacy. Of course it's all symbolism, so anything can be anything. Freud also obsesses over how our mind (superego) is constantly "protecting" us from unpleasant thoughts (id), and proposes dreams are an area that leaks through sometimes. So from a Freudian perspective it's natural to jump to interpretations intense enough that they are worth being protected from. But that's just Freud, he was right about some stuff and pretty wildly wrong about other stuff. I wouldn't read too much into it. My point is that chat-GPT has room to grow in its psychoanalysis.
almog 4y ago
That was (almost) my exact thought when I read that. On a tangent, when I tried to use ChatGPT to diagnose a sleep disorder I might have, it first suggested that I'm experiencing lucid dreaming, but eliminating this diagnosis lead ChatGPT to this conclusion: '... If you are aware that you are dreaming but do not have control over the dream content, it is possible that you are experiencing a form of lucid dreaming called a "prescient dream."' So, turns out it was nothing but a simple case of possessing prophetic powers that gave me poor sleep.

dshipper 4y ago

OP here. That’s fascinating! Can you tell me where I can read about this? I don’t have any conscious fears of infidelity…

zug_zug 4y ago
Well Freud in general tended to sexualize everything. He said people chiefly had two motivations - sex and killing. You can read scans his books for free online, but I don't think they really hold up. But I think "bull" is slang for a man participating in infidelity (not sure if your subconscious was aware of this). I think there's some symbolism around horns in particular in numerous languages (and the origin of some offensive hand gestures). So you have this describedly masculine and physically stronger presence in your house you don't know how to remove, along with the wife's pregnancy, of course Freud would jump fears of infidelity or inadequacy. Of course it's all symbolism, so anything can be anything. Freud also obsesses over how our mind (superego) is constantly "protecting" us from unpleasant thoughts (id), and proposes dreams are an area that leaks through sometimes. So from a Freudian perspective it's natural to jump to interpretations intense enough that they are worth being protected from. But that's just Freud, he was right about some stuff and pretty wildly wrong about other stuff. I wouldn't read too much into it. My point is that chat-GPT has room to grow in its psychoanalysis.

almog 4y ago

That was (almost) my exact thought when I read that. On a tangent, when I tried to use ChatGPT to diagnose a sleep disorder I might have, it first suggested that I'm experiencing lucid dreaming, but eliminating this diagnosis lead ChatGPT to this conclusion: '... If you are aware that you are dreaming but do not have control over the dream content, it is possible that you are experiencing a form of lucid dreaming called a "prescient dream."' So, turns out it was nothing but a simple case of possessing prophetic powers that gave me poor sleep.