Julian Jaynes Society Wiki

A Knowledge Base for Julian Jaynes's Theory

User Tools

Site Tools


overview-four-hypotheses

Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

Link to this comparison view

Both sides previous revisionPrevious revision
Next revision
Previous revision
overview-four-hypotheses [2024/04/14 19:31] brian.moverview-four-hypotheses [2024/04/30 14:47] (current) brian.m
Line 1: Line 1:
 ==== INTRODUCTION TO JULIAN JAYNES'S THEORY ==== ==== INTRODUCTION TO JULIAN JAYNES'S THEORY ====
  
-In 1977 Princeton University psychologist Julian Jaynes (1920–1997) put forth a bold new theory about human psychology in the controversial but critically acclaimed book //The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind//. To support his theory, Jaynes drew on neuroscience, psychology, archaeology, ancient history, religious studies, linguistics, and the analysis of ancient texts. His theory has profound implications for our understanding of human history as well as many aspects of modern life. Jaynes was far ahead of his time, and his theory remains as relevant and influential today as when it was first published.+In 1977 Princeton University psychologist Julian Jaynes (1920–1997) put forth a bold new theory about human psychology in his controversial but critically acclaimed book //The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind//. To support his theory, Jaynes drew on neuroscience, psychology, archaeology, ancient history, religious studies, linguistics, and the analysis of ancient texts. His theory has profound implications for our understanding of human history as well as many aspects of modern life. Jaynes was far ahead of his time, and his theory remains as relevant and influential today as when it was first published.
  
 Jaynes asserted that consciousness, or subjective introspectable self-awareness, did not emerge far back in human evolution but is a learned ability based on metaphorical language, not genetic changes. Before consciousness developed, human behavior was governed by bicameral ("two-chambered") mentality. In place of an internal self-dialogue, bicameral individuals experienced audiovisual hallucinations directing their actions, similar to the command hallucinations experienced by many people who hear voices today. These hallucinatory experiences were interpreted as the voices of ancestors, chiefs, divine rulers, or gods. It needs to be stressed that by "consciousness" Jaynes did not mean sensory perception, thinking, rational thought, or learning.  Jaynes asserted that consciousness, or subjective introspectable self-awareness, did not emerge far back in human evolution but is a learned ability based on metaphorical language, not genetic changes. Before consciousness developed, human behavior was governed by bicameral ("two-chambered") mentality. In place of an internal self-dialogue, bicameral individuals experienced audiovisual hallucinations directing their actions, similar to the command hallucinations experienced by many people who hear voices today. These hallucinatory experiences were interpreted as the voices of ancestors, chiefs, divine rulers, or gods. It needs to be stressed that by "consciousness" Jaynes did not mean sensory perception, thinking, rational thought, or learning. 
overview-four-hypotheses.1713141102.txt.gz · Last modified: 2024/04/14 19:31 by brian.m

Donate Powered by PHP Valid HTML5 Valid CSS Driven by DokuWiki