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--- vestiges-of-bicameral-mentality [2024/04/05 12:16] – brian.m
+++ vestiges-of-bicameral-mentality [2024/04/10 12:54] (current) – jjswikiadmin
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-==== Modern Relevance ====
+==== MODERN RELEVANCE ====
 The implications of Jaynes’s ideas are far-ranging. Besides ancient history and the origins of religion, his theories help us understand neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, neuroplasticity, anomalous psychological behavior (e.g., hypnosis and spirit possession), linguistics, metaphor, philosophy (the mind‒body dualism problem), art and aesthetics, the dynamics of modern politics, counseling, psychotherapy, the interface of psychology with technology, and the future of the ever-changing human psyche.
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 The second symptom is a collection of conditions that relate to the deterioration of consciousness. Specifically, the erosion of the analog “I,” the collapse of mind‒space, and an inability to narratize.
-Jaynes summarized why he believes that schizophrenic hallucinations are vestiges of an earlier mentality. The brain possesses innate "aptic structures" for hallucinations. These structures are imbued with authorization and organized into hierarchies. Many hallucinations are infused with religious sentiment. But if hallucinations lack such religiosity they still nevertheless function as a type of authorization; this means the present-day schizophrenic hallucinations possess the same function as they did for preconscious people.
+For Jaynes, schizophrenic hallucinations are vestiges of an earlier mentality. He explained his reasoning:
-During humankind’s early stages natural and social selection evolved the paradigms behind these aptic structures into our nervous system.
-Hallucinations are released from their normal inhibition by the abnormal biochemistry associated with schizophrenia.
-A bicameral individual, unlike a profoundly alienated and lost schizophrenic, was a member of a strictly stratified super-spiritualized community who lacked any trace of angst or estrangement.
-//The Advantages of Schizophrenia.// One advantage of bicamerality is tirelessness, i.e., our analog “I” cannot ruminate or narratize excuses on why we need to take a break. By the same token our physiological selves cannot convince our analog “I” that we need to take a break since the latter does not exist in preconscious individuals.
+• The brain possesses innate "aptic structures" for hallucinations. These structures are imbued with authorization and organized into hierarchies. Many hallucinations are infused with religious sentiment. But if hallucinations lack such religiosity they still nevertheless function as a type of authorization; this means the present-day schizophrenic hallucinations possess the same function as they did for preconscious people. But schizophrenia is only a partial relapse to bicameralism. A schizophrenic individual is still a conscious being and learned subjectivity can never be completely suppressed or erased. A bicameral individual, unlike a profoundly alienated and lost schizophrenic, was a member of a strictly stratified super-spiritualized community who lacked any trace of angst or estrangement. Hallucinations are released from their normal inhibition by the abnormal biochemistry associated with schizophrenia. Jaynes noted the following:
-Another advantage is how bicameral individuals (and schizophrenics) are more sensitive to and alert to sensory impressions. They see every tree and never the forest. They cannot narratize down possible paths or conciliate unnecessary associations. This means they are less likely to meander and wander around their mental space, become distracted, and mull over the nuances of their choices.
+• The Advantages of Schizophrenia. One advantage of bicamerality is tirelessness, i.e., our analog “I” cannot ruminate or narratize excuses on why we need to take a break. By the same token our physiological selves cannot convince our analog “I” that we need to take a break since the latter does not exist in preconscious individuals. Another advantage is how bicameral individuals (and schizophrenics) are more sensitive to and alert to sensory impressions. They see every tree and never the forest. They cannot narratize down possible paths or conciliate unnecessary associations. This means they are less likely to meander and wander around their mental space, become distracted, and mull over the nuances of their choices.
 No doubt certain genes were selected to undergird bicameral mentality. However, genes do not in any simplistic fashion “cause” any form of mentality and enculturation far outweighs the role of genetics in the emergence of consciousness.
-• //Unlike most people, slightly more activity is apparent in the right hemisphere of schizophrenics.//
+• Unlike most people, slightly more activity is apparent in the right hemisphere of schizophrenics.
 • After several minutes of sensory deprivation, increased right hemisphere activity in schizophrenia is much more evident. This is the same condition that triggers hallucinations in the nonclinical population.