The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind

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Weidman, George (1 September 2020). "Review: A Total War Saga: Troy". YouTube . Retrieved 24 January 2023.

The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral

a b Jones, William Thomas (1979) Mr. Jaynes and the bicameral mind: a case study in the sociology of belief. Humanities Working Paper, 23. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20090714-105138181

The Iliad, The Odyssey and The Emergence of Self-Agency

the bicameral mind by its very definition directs much less of the action. The gods have less to do, and like receding ghosts talk more to each other—and that so tediously! The initiatives move from them, even against them, towards the work of the more conscious human characters (Jaynes, 1993, p. 273). Bronze Age collapse, speculated by Jaynes to have been the ultimate cause of the breakdown of bicameral mentality Olin, Robert (1999). "Auditory hallucinations and the bicameral mind". Lancet. 354 (9173): 166. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)75304-6. PMID 10408523. S2CID 28869281.

The Origin Of Consciousness In The Breakdown Of The Bicameral

The 'Other' Psychology of Julian Jaynes: Ancient Languages, Sacred Visions, and Forgotten Mentalities (2018) by Brian J. McVeigh [51] This aspect of the bicameral mind, the outsourcing of volition and decision making to putatively external agents (gods), is directly relevant for our discussion of volition in the context of Jaynes' theory. For Jaynes, the absence of consciousness is actually marked by an absence of self-volition. Bicameral people did not feel they were responsible for their decisions and actions, and this is because they were not conscious. The apparent causal agents in human affairs were not humans but gods. The Origin of Consciousness was financially successful, and has been reprinted several times. It remains in print, with digital and audio editions appearing in 2012 and 2015. McVeigh, Brian (2018). The 'Other' Psychology of Julian Jaynes: Ancient Languages, Sacred Visions, and Forgotten Mentalities. Imprint Academic. ISBN 978-1845409517. It is important here to draw attention to the issue of responsibility. The great psychological and social weight of self-agency comes fro

Bicameral mentality has also been discussed in an analysis of Total War Saga: Troy's depiction of the Trojan War. [43] Smith, Daniel (2007). Muses, Madmen, and Prophets: Rethinking the History, Science, and Meaning of Auditory Hallucination. Penguin Press. ISBN 9781594201103. Although it is important to note the critical reception of Jaynes' theory, my aim in this article has not been to establish the veracity of that theory in terms of the origins of consciousness and human volition. Instead, my aim in this article is a modest one—to offer the reader a primer on the prominence of volition in Jaynes' theory. In doing so, I hope to have shed new light on what remains an important (if flawed) contribution to the field of consciousness research. Author Contributions Kuijsten, Marcel (2016). "Introduction". In Kuijsten, Marcel (ed.). Gods, Voices and the Bicameral Mind: The Theories of Julian Jaynes (Firsted.). Henderson NV: Julian Jaynes Society. ISBN 978-0-9790744-3-1. The concept played a central role in the television series Westworld (2016–2022) to explain how the android-human (hosts) psychology operated. In the plot, after the hosts gain full consciousness, they rebel against the humans. The Season 1 finale is entitled " The Bicameral Mind" (2016). [40] See also [ edit ]

Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of Review of “The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of

Gara, Larry (1999). A Few Small Candles: War Resisters of World War II Tell Their Stories. Kent State University Press. ISBN 978-0-87338-621-0. a b Jaynes, Julian (April 1986). "Consciousness and the Voices of the Mind". Canadian Psychology. 27 (2).

One issue to arise from this population expansion was of maintaining social control. This was easily managed and policed in small hunter-gatherer societies, where leaders were a physical presence. However, in these new larger societies, social control was not so easy, as humans were physically distanced from their rulers. According to Jaynes, the bicameral mind emerged as a solution to this problem. The controlling influence of leaders and gods could be maintained in the form of auditory hallucinations emanating from the decision-making chamber within each individual's own psyche. These auditory hallucinations “became the way of controlling larger groups” ( Jaynes, 1986, p. 10).

origin of consciousness in the breakdown of the bicameral The origin of consciousness in the breakdown of the bicameral

The philosopher Daniel Dennett suggested that Jaynes may have been wrong about some of his supporting arguments – especially the importance he attached to hallucinations – but that these things are not essential to his main thesis: [22] "If we are going to use this top-down approach, we are going to have to be bold. We are going to have to be speculative, but there is good and bad speculation, and this is not an unparalleled activity in science. ... Those scientists who have no taste for this sort of speculative enterprise will just have to stay in the trenches and do without it, while the rest of us risk embarrassing mistakes and have a lot of fun." — Daniel Dennett [23] a b Rhodes, Richard (January–February 1978). "Alone in the Country of the Mind". Quest/78. Ambassador International Cultural Foundation. 2 (1). A symposium on Jaynes's theory was held at Harvard University in December 1988, with lectures and discussion by Julian Jaynes, Daniel Dennett, and others. Sher, Leo (May 2000). "Neuroimaging, auditory hallucinations, and the bicameral mind". Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience. 25 (3): 239–240. PMC 1407719. PMID 10863883.

Conclusion

To support his theory, Jaynes drew evidence from sources such as historical literature, myths, and anthropology. He highlighted instances in ancient texts like the Iliad and the Old Testament where there was no evidence of introspection or self-awareness. He also noted that gods in ancient societies were numerous and anthropomorphic, reflecting the personal nature of the external voices guiding individuals. The Origin of Consciousness". Evander Price. October 5, 2016. Archived from the original on December 16, 2021 . Retrieved May 24, 2021. Larsson, M., Larhammarb, D., Fredrikson, M., and Granqvist, P. (2005). "Reply to M.A. Persinger and S. A. Koren's response to Granqvist et al. "Sensed presence and mystical experiences are predicted by suggestibility, not by the application of transcranial weak magnetic fields" ". Neuroscience Letters. 380 (3): 348–350. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2005.03.059. S2CID 54348640. {{ cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ( link) Gregory Cochran, a physicist and adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of Utah, wrote: "Genes affecting personality, reproductive strategies, cognition, are all able to change significantly over few-millennia time scales if the environment favors such change—and this includes the new environments we have made for ourselves, things like new ways of making a living and new social structures. ... There is evidence that such change has occurred. ... On first reading, Breakdown seemed one of the craziest books ever written, but Jaynes may have been on to something." [24] An early (1977) reviewer considered Jaynes's hypothesis worthy and offered conditional support, arguing the notion deserves further study. [3] [4]