Overview
Why are gods and idols ubiquitous throughout the ancient world? What is the relationship of consciousness and language? How is it that oracles came to influence entire nations such as Greece? If consciousness arose far back in human evolution, how can it so easily be altered in hypnosis and "possession"? Is modern schizophrenia a vestige of an earlier mentality? These are just some of the difficult questions addressed by Julian Jaynes's influential and controversial theory of the origin of subjective consciousness or the "modern mind."
In 1977 Princeton University psychologist Julian Jaynes (1920–1997) put forth a bold new theory of the origin of consciousness and a previous mentality known as the bicameral mind in the controversial but critically acclaimed book The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. Jaynes was far ahead of his time, and his theory remains as relevant today as when it was first published.
Jaynes asserts that consciousness did not arise far back in human evolution but is a learned process based on methaphorical langauge. Prior to the development of consciousness, Jaynes argues humans operated under a previous mentality he called the bicameral ('two-chambered') mind. In the place of an internal dialogue, bicameral people experienced auditory hallucinations directing their actions, similar to the command hallucinations experienced by people with schizophrenia today. These hallucinations were interpreted as the voices of chiefs, rulers, or the gods.
To support his theory, Jaynes draws evidence from a wide range of fields, including neuroscience, psychology, archeology, ancient history, and the analysis of ancient texts. Jaynes's theory has profound implications for human history as well as a variety of aspects of modern society such as mental health, religious belief, susceptiblity to persuasion, psychological anomalies such as hypnosis and possession, and our ongoing consciousness evolution.
Jaynes's theory can be broken down into four main hypotheses:
- Consciousness — as he carefully defines it — is a learned process based on metaphorical language.
- That preceding the development of consciousness there was a different mentality based on verbal hallucinations called the bicameral ('two-chambered') mind.
- Dating the development of consciousness to around the end of the 2nd millennium B.C. in Greece and Mesopotamia. The transition occurred at different times in other parts of the world.
- That the bicameral mind is based on a double-brain neurological model.
If you are new to Jaynes's theory and want to learn more, start by reading his book, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind.
After you are familiar with Jaynes's theory, Reflections on the Dawn of Consciousness: Julian Jaynes's Bicameral Mind Theory Revisited provides additional discussion of Jaynes's ideas by a variety of scholars, as well as articles by Jaynes himself. This book expands on various aspects of Jaynes's theory, updates the reader on research relevant to his ideas, and and addresses criticisms of Jaynes's theory.
After reading The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind and Reflections on the Dawn of Consciousness, please see our Self Study Course for further recommendations.
