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Timeline of Estimated Transition by Culture

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 6:05 pm
by TonyB0505
Hi,

I am wondering if there is a timeline of the estimate times of transition from bicamerality to consciousness as a function of culture?


Tony

Re: Timeline of Estimated Transition by Culture

Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 4:37 pm
by Moderator
This would make a great topic for a research project but as far as I am aware, a comprehensive worldwide analysis has not yet been done.

I can only provide a brief sketch with references for further reading:

~ 1500 - 1000 B.C. - Egypt, Greece, Mesopotamia
For more on Greece I recommend The Awakening of the Greek Historical Spirit by Chester Starr.

~1200 B.C. - China
Michael Carr has documented evidence that the transition occurred in China roughly contemporaneously with Greece. See "The Shi 'Corpse/Personator' Ceremony in Early China" in Reflections on the Dawn of Consciousness.

~ 500 - 1000 ? - Americas
Much more research needs to be done here, but evidence suggests the transition occurred more than a millennium later in the Americas. Brian McVeigh will be discussing this as part of a new book he is working on.

~ 1500 ? - Isolated locations such as Easter Island
See Brian J. McVeigh - "Julian Jaynes and Neurotheology"
This will be touched on in McVeigh's forthcoming book as well.

~ 1800 - 1900+ - Isolated tribes in Africa, the Amazon, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Papua, New Guinea
For more on the evidence for bicameralism in tribes see Primitive Mentality by Lucien Levy-Bruhl, The Julian Jaynes Collection, and the "The Mentality of Pre-Literate and Pre-Modern Peoples" section of this forum.

Re: Timeline of Estimated Transition by Culture

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 5:48 pm
by selfreplicate
taken from Jaynes' OC

Bicameral Timeline
2000-1000 BC: man stops hearing voices
1000-0 BC: oracle and prophets die away
0-1000 AD: sayings and hearings preserved in sacred text
1000-2000 AD: sacred text loses its authority

Literary examples of Bicameralism Theory (vs. Subjective Consciousness)
Chinese-Confucious (SC)
India-Veda (bicam) / Upanishads (SC)
Hebrew-Bible: Amos (bicam) / Ecclesiastes (SC)
Greek-The Iliad (bicam) / The Odyssey (SC)

By 400 B.C. bicameral prophecy is dead (p312)
http://networkaddress.blogspot.com/2011 ... kdown.html

Re: Timeline of Estimated Transition by Culture

Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 6:46 pm
by TonyB0505
Hi,

I can't believe I didn't reply sooner. Did I get sidetracked!

This is very much appreciated.


Thanks!

Tony