Julian Jaynes Society Forum: Exploring Consciousness and Bicameral Mind Theory

Hi, all.

Tucked away in a footnote in Origins is a reference to "aptic structures." Would someone please define this term for me as Jaynes intended it? And it's best to dumb it down since I'm no scientist. I'd appreciate hearing any comments, too, as to how these aptic structures may or may not be akin to the Jungian concept of "archetypes."

Many thanks!

This question has come up a couple of times here before, as it was not as clearly explained by Jaynes as perhaps it could have been.

Here's what Jaynes says in a footnote on p. 31:

"Aptic structures are the neurological basis of aptitudes that are composed of an innate evolved aptic paradigm plus the results of experience in development. The term ... is meant to replace such problematic words as instincts. They are organizations of the brain, always partially innate, that make the organism apt to behave in a certain way under certain conditions."

There are links to the previous threads and an external link which I think is helpful:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=189

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=503

https://nyuanshin.livejournal.com/114719.html