Answer: Philosophers have been fascinated with dreams for thousands of years, but empirical research and scientific study on it has begun only in recent times. Dreams can be extraordinarily vivid or vague; it can be either joyful or frightening; and also can be understandable or confusing. Yet the researchers do not understand the purpose of dreams. The psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud's theory of dreams suggests that dreams are a representation of unconscious desires, thoughts and motivations. According to Freud, when our aggressive and sexual instincts are not consciously expressed, they find their way into our awareness via dreams. So dreams are disguised fulfillments of repressed wishes. Some researchers also think that dreams are not meaningless rather the cognitive elements in our brain produce new ideas during dreams. One theory suggests dreams to be the result of our brains trying to interpret external stimuli during sleep. Some theorists think dreams refresh the mind and according to some others, they function as a form of psychotherapy. 'Dream' has also other meanings. The great Romantic poet William Wordsworth regarded poets to be dreamers. Poets give voice to what we desire to achieve. They write about the dreams of lovers, men of action, patriots, social reformers and workers. The great leaders were also dreamers as they dreamt for human emancipation.
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