Human, All Too Human, Part 13 summary
Part 13 of 152 · 4 min to read the part
In 13, the speaker argues that dreams explain bodily sensations by inventing causes and accepting them as real, linking this habit to early human reasoning. Examples involving bound feet, sounds, and closed eyes support the claim that strict reasoning develops slowly and remains vulnerable to imaginative explanations.
What happens
- Bodily activity during sleep produces unfamiliar sensations that prompt the mind to seek explanations.
- The dreamer invents causes for these sensations and accepts the resulting images as reality.
- The speaker connects this ready acceptance of explanations with the reasoning of early humanity.
- Closing the eyes offers another example: the mind turns patches of light and color into imagined scenes.
- The argument concludes that strict causal reasoning develops slowly, while poets and artists also misidentify the sources of their feelings.
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In this part
Quick check
What does the example of threads around the feet illustrate?
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