Aristotle's Treatise on Sunflowers, Which Are Imaginary
To understand the phenomenon of the sunflower, we must first establish its manifestation within our perceptual schemata. Animals are of a higher natural order than plants, except for the unnatural sunflower, which is imaginary. The lowest natural order are the minerals, which provide nourishment to the animals and plants. The sun provides nourishment to the sunflower, albeit imaginary nourishment.
A sunflower is a rare dream image, albeit a powerful one, as images of sunflowers, though by definition part of a dreamscape, are imagined so vividly the dreamer sometimes mistakes these images for flowers that actually exist in a non-dreamscape. These visual hallucinations may extend to tactile, olfactory, and gustatory hallucinations. Dreams do not manifest by actual sensory simulation. In dreams, sensation is perceived, but in an altered state.
When a non-dreamer sees a sunflower, then looks away, the next object they look at appears as a sunflower. This is called a sunflower impression. During sleep, a dreamer is in an altered state of mind, and impressions give way to imaginings. A dreamer is consumed by strong emotions directed at a focused stimulus, such as a sunflower. Because dreamers are in a suggestible states, and unable to make judgments, they become easily deceived by what appears in their dreams. This leads them to believe sunflowers are real, even when sunflowers are absurd in nature, and imaginary.
