About the Society

The Julian Jaynes Society is a scholarly society and publisher focused on exploring Julian Jaynes's theory of the origin of consciousness and the bicameral mind as well as the many topics related to the theory.

The society was formed in 1997 shortly after the death of Julian Jaynes, with the initial goals of bringing together those interested in his ideas and locating Jaynes's unpublished writings. Over the past decade, the Julian Jaynes Society has grown tremendously and now helps promote Julian Jaynes's theory in a variety of ways, including:

• Publishing books and articles (both printed and electronic) relevant to the topic of consciousness and the bicameral mind theory.
• Publishing a newsletter, The Jaynesian, with relevant essays, book reviews, and announcements.
• Maintaining a Member's Area with hard to find articles, conference videos, audio lectures, book reviews, member essays, and more.
• Organizing Jaynes-related speaker sessions and workshops at consciousness conferences, such as the Toward a Science of Consciousness Conference in Tucson, Arizona.
• Helping to promote the biennial Julian Jaynes Conference on Consciousness.
• Maintaining a public Discussion Forum.

About the Executive Director

Marcel Kuijsten is Founder and Executive Director of the Julian Jaynes Society.

He earned Bachelors degrees in both Psychology and English from California State University and spent a summer as an intern in the Engineering Department at Princeton University. After being accepted to the doctoral program in Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Texas he then decided against a career in academia, instead earning a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

He is editor of the book Reflections on the Dawn of Consciousness: Julian Jaynes's Bicameral Mind Theory Revisited (2007) and co-editor (with Dr. Brian J. McVeigh) of The Jaynesian, the newsletter of the Julian Jaynes Society. Recent interviews with Marcel Kuijsten have appeared in the book Blood Rites by Jimmy Lee Shreeve and the magazine New Therapist (Vol. 32, July/August 2004).

He will be speaking at the Toward A Science of Consciousness conference in April 2008.

Academic Advisors

Michael Carr, Ph.D.
Otaru University of Commerce, Japan (retired)
Michael Carr retired from teaching at Otaru University of Commerce in Japan and works as a freelance translator in Hawaii. He has published extensively on Chinese and Japanese linguistics and lexicography, including the New Japanese-English Character Dictionary. He has also published a series of articles on the evidence for bicameralism in ancient China.

Scott Greer, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology, University of Prince Edward Island
Scott Greer is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Prince Edward Island. He is also Editor for the Canadian Psychological Association journal, the and Philosophy of Psychology Bulletin, and is coordinator for the Julian Jaynes Conference on Consciousness. Dr. Greer has published over a dozen articles on the history and theory of psychology, with particular emphasis on the history of self research and psychoanalysis.

John Hainly, M.A.
Department of English & Philosophy, Southern University
John Hainly is Instructor of Philosophy at Southern University. He specialized in Philosophy of History and is interested in Philosophy of Religion, Culture, Science & Technology, as well as Psychology of Religion.

Brian J. McVeigh, Ph.D.
Department of East Asian Studies, University of Arizona
Brian J. McVeigh studied Asian Studies and Political Science at the State University of New York at Albany, from where he received his Master's degree. He received his Ph.D. in anthropology from Princeton University and was a student of Julian Jaynes. A psychological anthropologist and specialist on Japanese culture, he has lived and worked in Asia for almost 17 years. The author of seven books and numerous articles on spirit possession, religion, education, politics, nationalism, and popular culture, he now teaches in the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Arizona. He is now researching the history of psychology in Japan and is also completing a book entitled "The Propertied Self: Wealth, Progress, and Human Nature."

Jan Sleutels, Ph.D.
Department Philosophy, Leiden University, Netherlands
Jan Sleutels is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Leiden University. His teaching and research interests range from metaphysics to philosophy of mind and cognitive science. He is currently working on a large project in media philosophy.