observations_on_man

=David Hartley's //Observations on Man// and Examination of Dreams and the Subconscious=

Introduction
//“I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life, and stir with an uneasy, half vital motion.... His success would terrify the artist; he would rush away from his odious handywork, horror-stricken. He would hope that, left to itself, the slight spark of life which he had communicated would fade; that this thing, which had received such imperfect animation, would subside into dead matter… he opens his eyes; behold the horrid thing stands at his bedside, opening his curtains, and looking on him with yellow, watery, but speculative eyes.”// [9]

Mary Shelly’s dream, quoted above, was the inspiration for her novel, //Frankenstein//. The contemporary focus during the Romantic Era was the paranormal and the value of life; this near obsession with the paranormal, coupled with Shelly’s dream, added a depth to the aforementioned novel. In //Frankenstein//, specifically in chapter 5, Shelly utilizes David Hartley’s view on the subconscious and dreams to magnify feelings and emotions Victor feels, and to drive the actions of the creature stemming from the magnified reality in the dream.

David Hartley's Analysis on the Mind
David Hartley, born on June 21, 1705, published his most famous work, //Observations on Man,// in 1749, three years after a similar essay was published. It was published in two parts: the first dealing with the frame of the human body and mind, and their mutual connections and influences, and the second dealing with the duty and expectations of mankind. Through these publications, he promoted two main theories: the doctrine of vibrations and the doctrine of associations. His physical theory was drawn from certain speculations as to nervous action published in Sir Isaac Newton's //Principia//. Subsequently, his psychological theory was suggested by the //Dissertation concerning the Fundamental Principles of Virtue or Morality// written by John Gay and //Origin of Evil//; its chief object being to show that sympathy and conscience are developments by means of association from the selfish feelings. [2]

Hartley's key assertion was that the human mind is blank; only by growth can a state of consciousness come into being. He sought to explain, not only the phenomena of memory, which others had similarly explained before him, but also the phenomena of emotion, of reasoning, and of voluntary and involuntary action. [2] This idea of the initial mind as a blank slate was sparked by John Locke's //An Essay Concerning Human Understanding//, which was published in 1690, and which states: //"Let us then suppose the mind to be, as we say, white paper, void of all characters, without any ideas:- How comes it to be furnished?"// [4] The essay then continues to show similarities with Hartley's way of thinking when it questions how man fills the 'white paper'. //"Whence comes it by that vast store which the busy and boundless fancy of man has painted on it with an almost endless variety? Whence has it all the materials of reason and knowledge? To this I answer, in one word, from experience."// [4] Locke states that experience will fill the white paper. Similarly, Hartley argues that only growth, which entails experience, //can// allow for consciousness to grow and //will// allow the aforementioned blank slate to be blank no more.

The doctrine of vibrations promotes the idea that there are vibrations in the medullary substance of the nerves, which, causes emotion based on the intensity of the aforementioned vibrations. [2] A moderate vibration results in pleasure and a violent vibration results in pain; this idea mirrors the beliefs Romantic Era, whose forerunners believed strongly in the invoked feelings of both pleasure and pain. //"For all our plea­sures and pains are internal feelings, and conversely, all our internal feelings seem to be attended with some degree either of pleasure or pain."// [7] His compartmentalization of pleasure and pain also reflect the ideas of the romanticists in the given time period. //"The pleasures and pains may be ranged under seven general classes: Sensation; Imagination; Ambition; Self-Interest; Sympathy; Theopathy; and The Moral Sense; according as they arise from The impressions made on the external senses, Natural or artificial beauty or deformity, The opinions of others concerning us, Our possession or want of the means of happiness, and security from, or subjection to, the hazards of misery, The pleasures and pains of our fellow-creatures, The affections excited in us by the contemplation of the Deity, or Moral beauty and deformity."// [7] The different variations of vibrations then leave behind a tendency towards fainter vibrations or "vibrantiuncles" of a similar kind which correspond to "ideas of sensations," which, in essence, leads to memory. [2]

On the other hand, the doctrine of association explores the course of reminiscence and thoughts, which, when not immediately dependent upon external sensation, is accounted for by the idea that there are always vibrations in the brain due to its heat and the pulsation of its arteries. He argues that the nature of these vibrations is determined by each man's past experience and by the circumstances of the moment, which causes one or another tendency to prevail over the rest. Sensations that are often associated together each become associated with the ideas surrounding the other, therefore having both sensations become associated as one, which often forms a simpler idea. [2]

Hartley worked to popularize the theory of associationism, which was originally proposed by Aristotle in his work //Ps////ychology//. Associationism is defined as the idea that memories are built from the associations of simple sensations, stimuli and responses, or other behavioral or mental elements. [1] He lists five cases of the association of simple ideas of sensation, all including a specific situation being associated with at least one other situation due to the continued repetition of the former situation(s) occurring directly before, during, or directly after the latter situation(s). [7] In his work //Observations on Man//, he also argues that truth is an internal feeling, and more importantly, that it is a manifestation of associations. If one were to analyze this argument, one can come to the conclusion that the truth, as an internal feeling, has the ability to manifest itself in the subconscious of a human, and therefore has the ability to become at least the partial material of a dream. [5]

//Observations on Man// also explores the materials necessary to create a dream. Hartley argues that dream images are deducible from three causes:

1) impressions and ideas lately received 2) the present state of the dreamer's body, especially his or her stomach and brain; 3) and associations which he thought to be vivid and less controlled during sleep.

Therefore, in reference to the materials which Hartley argues make up dreams, fears, hopes, and previous or anticipated events are manifested within those nightly self-induced pictures. Even in dreams that seem completely irrelevant to what has occurred or what is anticipated to occur, the dream can be attributed to the phenomenon of association which the dreamer is either cognizant of or is completely unaware. Any impact on a person can be implanted in a dream; the stronger the impact, the stronger the sensation, the more likely the event or feeling will occur in a dream. Hartley also believed that our dreams magnify the events and feelings which are present in a person's dreams. [3]

Contemporary Thought on the Subconscious during the Romantic Era
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, many opinions about the origin and meaning of dreams were floating around and existed in medical, philosophical and poetical writings. Many believed dreams revealed the powers of the imagination and they were considered a form of poetic inspiration. Others thought dreams were entirely attributable to the dreamer’s physical or psychological condition. [6] Dreams were classified. The “nightmare” (or incubus) was said to be caused by “difficult respiration, a violent oppression of the breast, and a total privation of voluntary motion”.

Many people studied dreams and tried to find the cause for them. The physician William Buchan claimed heavy meals right before going to sleep was the cause of bad dreams. David Hartley argued that the body’s position determined the fear, presence of ghosts, horror and danger in dreams. Erasmus Darwin said that the cause of dreams was partly because of the internal senses of hunger, thirst and lust, and claimed nightmares were caused by indigestion.

Often, bad dreams were treated as specific diseases. According to Daniel Pick and Lyndal Roper, “Disease was frequently thought to be a divine punishment for an immoral action, or an immoral agency within a community, the result of maleficium (spells cast by witches) or of demonic possession”. [6] Nightmares were believed to indicate future epilepsy, insanity or apoplexy.

In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley, in a way, breaks from the idea that dreams are based on the physical condition. While Dr. Buchan, Mr. Hartley, and Mr. Darwin argued that the body’s position, and the person’s eating habits determined the types of dreams, in her novel, Shelley shows Victor’s dream to be a result of his mental state. In a way, Shelley is predicting the future and introduces Sigmund Freud’s beliefs.

Victor's Dream
//"I slept indeed, but I was disturbed by the wildest dreams. I thought I saw Elizabeth, in the bloom of health, walking in the streets of Ingolstadt. Delighted and surprised, I embraced her; but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death; her features appeared to change, and I thought I beheld the corpse// //of my dead mother in my arms; a shroud enveloped her form, and I saw the grave-worms crawling in the folds of the flannel. I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed; when, by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its way through the window-shutters, I beheld the wretch—the miserable monster whom I had created"// [8]

In //Observations on Man, his Frame, his Duty, and his Expectations//, David Hartley explains his belief of the relationship between sensations, ideas, and dreams. He claims that a powerful enough sensation can lead to the formulating of ideas. Once the creature is created, Victor is overwhelmed with horror. Ideas begin to come to his mind about the creature destroying everything he loves, most importantly his fiancé Elizabeth. Hartley also claims, “In sleep, all our ideas are magnified.” This philosophy is apparent in Victor’s dream the night after his creation. While he is conscious, Victor is worried that the creature may wreak havoc in his life. However, once he is subconscious, Victor’s thoughts are skewed and expanded to the point where everything around him dies. He sees himself as the person to be blamed for Elizabeth’s death in his dream. This is foreshadowing in the novel because once the creature begins to destroy Victor’s family, Victor blames himself for this and feels guilt, which is reminiscent of his dream.

**How The Creature Grows and Learns**
//"////My sensations had by this time become distinct, and my mind received every day additional ideas. My eyes became accustomed to the light and to perceive objects in their right forms; I distinguished the insect from the herb, and by degrees, one herb from another.////...// //One day, when I was oppressed by cold, I found a fire which had been left by some wandering beggars, and was overcome with delight at the warmth I experienced from it. In my joy I thrust my hand into the live embers, but quickly drew it out again with a cry of pain. How strange, I thought, that the same cause should produce such opposite effects!////"// [8]

The creature's experience detailed above shows how Shelley used Hartley's idea regarding the initial state of the mind when writing about him. Hartley states in //Observations on Man// that a person's mind is initially blank and can only obtain consciousness through growth; a person can only learn through experience, because the experience is then engrained in the person’s mind from the vibrations which were the effect of the experience. One can see in this passage that, at the beginning, the creature's mind was a blank slate; he knew nothing of the world, nor did he know anything of himself or of humans. He then discovered the difference between light and dark; he learned how to move; he learned he could hear, smell, and see; he learned he could feel both literally and figuratively. In this quote, he learns perception and about fire, about hot versus cold, about the paradox of beauty. By becoming more conscious of his surroundings as he grows and learns, one can see how Hartley's idea that a man can only obtain consciousness through growth is used by Mary Shelley to develop the character of the creature in her novel //Frankenstein//.

The Creature's Expression of Pleasure
//“Excellent man! I thank you and accept your generous offer. You raise me from the dust by this kindness; and I trust that, by your aid, I shall not be driven from the society and sympathy of your fellow creatures... How can I thank you, my best and only benefactor? From your lips first have I heard the voice of kindness directed towards me; I shall be forever grateful; and your present humanity assures me of success with those friends whom I am on the point of meeting."// [9]

In this quote, one can see Shelley's use of Hartley's interpretations on pain and pleasure, or more specifically, pleasure. He states that there are seven general classes of pain and pleasure: s//ensation; imagination; ambition; self-interest; sympathy; theopathy; and the moral sense.// One can see that in this quote, the pleasure the creature feels is rooted in self-interest and the moral sense. The creature wants to be accepted, and seeks acceptance from the one person who cannot see his defects; the emotion he feels, therefore, is rooted in self-interest. De Lacey is initially accepting of him, thereby invoking pleasure in the creature. At this point in the novel, the creature also thinks it morally wrong to discriminate against someone or something because it is different; since this is the case, this situation is also rooted in the moral sense. Because the creature is not being discriminated against and is being accepted for who he is, he feels immense pleasure.

Following the aforementioned classes of pain and pleasure, Hartley speaks about where each arises from: //the impressions made on the external senses, natural or artificial beauty or deformity, the opinions of others concerning us, our possession or want of the means of happiness, and security from, or subjection to, the hazards of misery, the pleasures and pains of our fellow-creatures, the affections excited in us by the contemplation of the deity, or moral beauty and deformity.// In this specific quote, the creature's pain mainly stems from the impressions made on the external senses. Because De Lacey is blind, he bases his first impression of the creature on what he hears; his hearing poses as his external sense. This gives the creature pleasure because he is not being judged on his appearance; De Lacey is not scared of the creature like most humans are; pleasure is therefore invoked in the creature. = =