Breakdown of Consciousness in the Information Age

Discussion of Julian Jaynes's first hypothesis - that consciousness (as he carefully defines it) is based on language, and related topics.
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PonceDeLeon
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Breakdown of Consciousness in the Information Age

Post by PonceDeLeon »

I heard Mr. Jaynes speak once, years back, in Fresno, CA where I still live. During the "question" period I tried to ask him a question, and wasn't able to get it out. In retrospect it was a simple question, but this was some years before the information age began, and the question wasn't clear to me, so I sounded like an idiot, had him sign my book, and left.

What I wanted to ask was: What's next? How and why will the conscious mind fail in light of changes in the socio/historical structure.

I think it's failing now. The glut of information has become the babble of old. Too many voices. Marilyn Voss Savant, she of the high IQ and sydicated column touched on one aspect of it in a piece years back, suggesting that we were not built to take in all the sad news of the world on a daily basis. News of tragedy has, for the most part, arrived on foot or horseback for most of our history.

That is but one small instance of the failure of the unicameral mind in the growing chaos of ready information. Statistics, journalism, politics, and the current global malaise, fueled by the fears of instant general information. The lack of context created by news and views of children dying of starvation in the Sudan, followed by crowds of ill wishers at the Casey Anthony trial, followed by a commercial, are undoing the benefits of a unicameral perspective.

The obvious cure would be to turn off the TVs, and the Internet, and get back to the smaller, less complex "islands" that a number of modern prophets of doom like Michael Ruppert have offered. We can't do that. Since the bichameral event, seers and sages have advised the middle path, but it is harder and harder to balance on that diminishing rope.
Anyway, I did a search and didn't see this topic. So if I missed it my apologies. Just food for thought. Try not to over eat.

PonceDeLeon
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Re: Breakdown of Consciousness in the Information Age

Post by Moderator »

Yes, the future of consciousness was a popular question after Jaynes's lectures. How will advances in technology change the way we think? Will we increasingly allow machines to do our thinking for us? Is literacy in decline? It's an interesting subject for discussion.
PonceDeLeon
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Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 12:14 pm

Re: Breakdown of Consciousness in the Information Age

Post by PonceDeLeon »

Moderator: "Yes, the future of consciousness was a popular question after Jaynes's lectures. How will advances in technology change the way we think? Will we increasingly allow machines to do our thinking for us? Is literacy in decline? It's an interesting subject for discussion."


Thanks Mod, for your input. Yes, that would've been my question, what about the future of consciousness, or, even then as I recall what I wanted to ask was what happens when consciousness fails to get the job done, as bichamerality did. But, like I said, this was before PCs I believe, no Internet (except maybe the DOD).

The subject of how fast the original shift happned from bichameral to consciousness has been discussed here I know. And a good partial answer is indeed it looks like that times and spaces of the old way persisted for a good while. My apocryphal opinion of the future of conscousness has less to do with the failure of consciousness and more with the idea that it will soon be overwhelmed. Literacy has been replaced by technical skill, and boy, wouldn't it be great if machines could think for us! Where's AI when you need it.

best, Ponce
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