Welcome / Introductions

General discussion regarding Jaynes's theory of consciousness and the bicameral mind. Please only post your topic here only if it does not fit into a more specific category below.
Moderator
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Welcome / Introductions

Post by Moderator »

Welcome to the new Julian Jaynes Society public Discussion Forum, created February 25, 2005!

Please use this thread for introductions.

We welcome any discussion relevant to Jaynes's theory (with the exception of subjects not based on basic scientific principles).
Dr. Bob
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 7:57 pm
Location: Oregon State University

Good Going

Post by Dr. Bob »

This is great! I look forward to some stimulating conversations about consciousness and what being human is all about. :D
I'm completing a book about interpretation, human experience, and intentionality, working title: ""Interpetation and the Sphere of Intentionality", an investigation similar to and inspired by The Origin of Consciousness .
lyam
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 5:58 am

Post by lyam »

Great! I'm just now reading The Origin of Consciousness and am fascinated. I was little disappointed to find this forum so underpopulated but then I realized it's brand new. Here's hoping for plenty of stimulating discussion!
Soupdragon
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2005 4:01 pm
Location: Wimbledon

Post by Soupdragon »

Hi Lyam

I hope you enjoy the book. I've just started reading it for a second time. It gets better.

I too would like to see a busier bulletin board, but it's a positive start...
sambrenton
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2005 10:24 am

Post by sambrenton »

Thanks for setting this up. It's important to keep these ideas alive. I'll pop in to contribute when I feel I have something sensible to offer.

I read the book 12 ytears ago, when I was 18, and it's fair to say it changed my life. My undergraduate essays were peppered with it, as I found that exciting sense of convergence wherever I looked in literature (only since have I learned that this is precisely what scholars must be most wary of!). It's stayed with me since, and colours the way I see reality.

Little echoes, refractions still come along.

I'm always on the lookout for descriptions of reality which accord with, not just evidence, but with that uncanny sense of... well, there's no english word for it, but a germnanic compound parody would be.... being-in-life. Jaynes was the first I found that knifed me with that recognition. I owe him much.

And, who knows, it may even be true.
rightbrain
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2005 7:42 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Jaynes's Work on the Mark

Post by rightbrain »

I'm happy to see this website, I was blown away when I first read The Origin. There is only one other book dealing with human history as influenced by our brain - Leonard Schlain's Art and Physics. Both were important references to my own research on creativity, as they gave such an original model of human consciousness. Both have also contributed to consciousness study of which only Johnjoe McFadden's Quantum Consciousness has come close. I'm an artist and I look at thing in the abstract, in other words, looking at ourselve as 'mind at large' in the universe, without the distractions of our ego selves. It's a no boundary interconnected view that is appropriate currently with quantum physics. In art, you need to see the underlying patterns of a subject and the so called physical objects are secondary. Jaynes uses this same kind of see-through thinking, disregarding our cultural norms and seeing ourselves as information gatherers and creators in a world of information. I hope he will gain greater following in the near future.
godmemes
Posts: 17
Joined: Fri Dec 29, 2006 2:36 pm

New Member, Blogger

Post by godmemes »

Hi all!

My name is Mark Zima. I intend to be an active participant in this forum, so I look forward to us having some interesting conversations here.

I welcome intelligent criticism of any of my ideas, so please don't ever feel that you risk upsetting me by disagreeing with me. I may argue my position, but that doesn't mean that I'm not open to the possibility that I'm wrong. I'd rather be corrected and thereby become right, than be wrong and have people believe I'm right.

I just started (yesterday) a blogsite that may be of some interest to members here. The first, and so far only, post is entitled: "The Disappearance of God and the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind in the Hebrew Bible." It looks at some of the writings of Richard Elliott Friedman (author of Who Wrote the Bible?) and asks whether they offer unintended support for the ideas of Julian Jaynes.

I have some interesting topics (IMHO) in mind for future posts, so please consider dropping by and checking out my blog periodically to see what's happening there.
Mark Zima

My blog (essays+forum) site is godmemes.com
Moderator
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Post by Moderator »

Welcome Mark!

Sounds interesting, I'll take a look at your blog...
Zoroaster
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 1:33 pm
Location: Portland, Oregon

Introduction, Interested Layman

Post by Zoroaster »

Hi, I've been reading here for a while and I have one post in the Schizophrenia section about Multiple Personality Disorder. I read Origin about 10 years ago and have really wanted to discuss it with others who understand it for a long time. I have little technical knowledge to contribute, my education is in Theatre arts including acting and history of the theatre. There are, of course, many things about Theatre that lend evidence to Jaynes' theory and many ways in which methods of acting are related to possession and oracular trances. I may do some posts about that. I was interested to read in Reflections that Jaynes was a playwright and director. I am surprised his book did not contain more about acting methods and the experience of acting. Do I recall correctly that he said someone else was working on a book about that?

Anyway most of my posts will probably be questions for general discussion. It may seem at times that I am trying to poke holes in Jaynes' theory but this is not the case. I wish to understand consciousness as much as he did and his theory makes the most sense to me. I think it will grow stronger through being challenged and refined. I'm still reading Reflections but I already have many comments about it. I am grateful for this forum.
Fisherman
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:29 am
Location: Fayetteville, AR

Welcome

Post by Fisherman »

Zoro,

Welcome. I haven't been here much in the last year, but with the new book on the way to my house, I think I will be reading and posting more. I am an architect, but I have many interests other than that. I hope you continue posting and I look forward to the conversations.

take care,

fisherman
Anthony Peake
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2007 2:52 am
Location: Wirral, England
Contact:

New Member - Author of New book on Bicameralism and NDE

Post by Anthony Peake »

A few years ago I started to research material for a book I had planned for some years. My initial intention was to review the theories and neurology of the phenomenon known as deja vu. As with all research projects I found myself moving away from the main theme to other areas. I found that deja vu was a major factor in pre-seizure auras of temporal lobe eplileptics. I also found that many TLE individuals also report the sensation that they are not one but two separate entities. This moved my onto schizophrenia and the work of Michael Persinger. It was then that Julian Jaynes' theory came to my attention.

The book I ended up writing applies bicameralism to, of all things, the Near-Death Experience. Not anywhere near what I had planned to write but the theory really seems to make sense. I was so pleased when a London based publisher agreed to take the book (it is my first) and even more excited when sales were beyond my wildest dreams. In six months my publisher has shifted over 13,000 copies across the world. However what is really pleasing me is the supportive evidence for my theory that is being emailed to me by TLE people and schizophrenics.

I would like to humbly believe that my theory - one I call 'Cheating The Ferryman' by the way - takes Julian's theory and looks at it with regard to the latest theories of quantum physics, neurology and consciousness studies. I call the two entities 'The Daemon' and 'The Eidolon' in acknowledgement of the Gnostics (who seemed to have spotted this link 1800 years ago).

It would be great if you guys would comment on my ideas and theory (and after all, it is only a theory). Unfortunately I cannot attach an article I had published in the Journal of Near-Death Studies a couple of years ago. It outlines the theory with regard to its bicameralism aspects. This can be found on the last page of my website. Please feel free to download the pdf and let me know what you think.My website is

http://www.anthonypeake.com.

This gives more details about the theory and the book.

I am so pleased to have discovered this site. it gives me the opportunity to discuss my theory with people who (I hope) really appreciate where I am coming from.
Author of 'Is There Life After Death , The Extraordinary Science of What Happens When We Die'.
Fisherman
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:29 am
Location: Fayetteville, AR

Post by Fisherman »

Mr. Peake,

If I am not mistaken, I received a newsletter in the mail in which you are mentioned. I once contacted Dolores Cannon about regressive hypnosis and she put me on the mailing list and I could have sworn that you were listed as a speaker on a "conference cruise" that is coming up. Maybe I am mistaken, but it would be a strange coincidence. Regardless, I am interested in your book and thoery. I haven't had a chance to go to your site yet, but give me a couple days and I would like to discuss it with you. If you would like to email me please use this address:

[email protected]

Thanks,

Jason
jovo
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Feb 02, 2008 9:40 pm
Location: Chicago

New Member, Old Jaynes Fan

Post by jovo »

It's been some twenty years since I've thought of Jayne's theory. I discovered Origin by accident while reading Jung, Fromme, Campbell and others writing in and around the subject of the collective unconscious. The title was intriguing; Jaynes' lucid, almost poetic prose hooked me. Glad to see that his amazing ideas are alive and well -- they weren't back then.
keeponrunning72689
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 7:19 pm
Location: Shippensburg

Re: Welcome / Introductions

Post by keeponrunning72689 »

Hey everyone,

I'm finally glad to say that I am a member of the Julian Jaynes Society. I have actually just recently picked up The Origin Of Consciousness again after some hiatus from reading it and hope to finish it in time to begin some excellent discussion covering the entire book. Once I post some comments I hope to hear from you all.
WS1
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 8:12 am

Re: Welcome / Introductions

Post by WS1 »

keeponrunning72689 wrote:Hey everyone,

I'm finally glad to say that I am a member of the Julian Jaynes Society. I have actually just recently picked up The Origin Of Consciousness again after some hiatus from reading it and hope to finish it in time to begin some excellent discussion covering the entire book. Once I post some comments I hope to hear from you all.
Hi,

I've only recently joined as well. A newbie welcome to you!
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