Human, All Too Human, Part 12 summary
Part 12 of 152 · 1 min to read the part
In 12, the speaker argues that sleep weakens memory and makes people confuse things through slight similarities, resembling the mental condition he attributes to early humanity. He connects this confusion with mythology and vivid hallucinations, concluding that dreaming repeats an earlier stage of human mental life.
What happens
- The speaker identifies memory as the brain function most weakened during sleep, though it does not stop entirely.
- He compares confused dream memory with the mental disorder in which he says nations create mythologies.
- He cites travelers’ accounts of forgetfulness and mental exhaustion among people he describes as savage.
- He attributes absurd dream actions and speech to faulty distinctions and comparisons.
- He links convincing dream images with early collective hallucinations and concludes that sleep repeats early human experience.
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In this part
Quick check
Which brain function does the speaker say sleep weakens most?
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