The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind (Penguin Psychology) - Softcover

Julian-jaynes

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140174915 ISBN 13: 9780140174915

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd, 1993

Synopsis

Bicameralism is a controversial psychological hypothesis that the brain once assumed a state known as a bicameral mind in which cognitive functions were divided between one part which is experienced as speaking & a 2nd part which listens & obeys.
The term was coined by psychologist Jaynes, who presented the idea in his The Origin of Consciousness, wherein he made the case that bicameral mentality was the normal state as recently as 3000 years ago. He used governmental bicameralism metaphorically to describe this state, where the stored up experience of the right hemisphere was transmitted to the left hemisphere via auditory hallucinations. This mental model was replaced by the conscious mode of thought, based on metaphorical language. The idea that language is necessary for subjective consciousness or higher forms of thought has been gaining acceptance, with proponents such as Daniel Dennett, Wm Calvin, Merlin Donald, John Limber, Howard Margolis & Jose Luis Bermudez. According to Jaynes, ancient people in the bicameral state functioned similarly to modern schizophrenics. Rather than making conscious evaluations in novel or unexpected situations, they'd hallucinate a voice or god giving admonitory advice or commands, obeying these voices without question. Others have argued that this state is recreated in cultists.
Jaynes' work proposed that human brains existed in a bicameral state until about 3000 years ago. He builds a case for this hypothesis by citing evidence from diverse sources including historical literature, taking an interdisciplinary approach, drawing data from many different fields.
Jaynes asserts that until roughly the time of the Iliad, humans didn't generally have the self-awareness characteristic of consciousness as most experience it today. Rather, the bicameral individual was guided by mental commands believed to be issued by external gods—the commands which were so often recorded in ancient myths, legends & historical accounts. These commands were emanating from their own brains. This is exemplified not only in the commands given to characters in ancient epics but also by the very muses of Greek mythology which sang the poems. He argues that while later interpretations see the muses as personifications of creative inspiration, the ancients literally heard them as the direct source of their music & poetry. He inferred that these voices came from the right brain counterparts of the left brain language centres—specifically, the counterparts to Wernicke's & Broca's areas. These regions are somewhat dormant in the right brains of most moderns, but studies show that auditory hallucinations correspond to increased activity in these areas.
For example, he asserts that in The Iliad & sections of the Hebrew Bible no mention is made of any kind of cognitive processes such as introspection. He argues there's no indication the composers were self-aware. The older portions of the bible such as Amos have few of the features of some later books (such as Ecclesiastes) as well as later works such as The Odyssey, which show indications of a profoundly different kind of mentality—an early form of consciousness.
Jaynes noted that in ancient societies, corpses were often treated as tho still alive-being seated on chairs, dressed in clothing, even fed. The dead were presumed to be still living & the source of auditory hallucinations. This adaptation to the village communities of 100 individuals or more formed the core of religion. Unlike hallucinations today, the voices of ancient times were structured by cultural norms to produce functioning societies. In ancient Greek culture there is often mention of the Logos, a similar concept. It was a type of guiding voice that was heard as from a seemingly external source. In ancient times gods were generally more numerous & anthropomorphic than today. He speculates that this was because each bicameral person had their own god who reflected their desires & experiences.
Even in modern times there's no consensus as to the causes of schizophrenia. According to him, schizophrenia is simply a vestige of humanity's earlier state. Evidence shows that many schizophrenics don't just hear voices but experience "command hallucinations" instructing their behavior or urging them to commit certain acts. These command hallucinations are little different from the commands from gods which feature so prominently in ancient stories. Indirect evidence supporting his theory that hallucinations once played an important role in human mentality can be found in Muses, Madmen & Prophets: Rethinking the History, Science & Meaning of Auditory Hallucination by Daniel Smith.

About this title

About the Author

Julian Jaynes (1923-1997) achieved an almost cult-like reputation for this controversial book, which was his only published work.

Review

"When Julian Jaynes . . . speculates that until late in the twentieth millennium b.c. men had no consciousness but were automatically obeying the voices of the gods, we are astounded but compelled to follow this remarkable thesis." -- John Updike The New Yorker

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0140174915
• ISBN 13: 9780140174915
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 491