The Best Books on the Bicameral Mind

[Moderator]

After reading Julian Jaynes's The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, people often have lingering questions or are interested in how the theory has fared since it was first published, but they aren't sure what to read next.

We also frequently see people express misconceptions or misunderstandings about Jaynes's theory in blogs, articles, and books. Many of these misunderstandings would easily have been cleared up if the only the writers had first taken the time to fully understand the theory.

Here is a quick guide:

Conversations on Consciousness and the Bicameral Mind: Interviews with Leading Thinkers on Julian Jaynes's Theory
After reading Jaynes's The Origin of Consciousness, or even as a highly readable introduction to the theory, we recommend that you start here. Conversations on Consciousness and the Bicameral Mind explains, extends, clarifies, and presents the latest evidence for Julian Jaynes’s theory in a series of highly engaging interviews with both voice-hearers and leading thinkers on the theory. Nearly all of the most frequently asked questions that people have about Jaynes's theory are answered in this book.

Gods, Voices, and the Bicameral Mind: The Theories of Julian Jaynes
Next, we recommend reading Gods, Voices, and the Bicameral Mind, which both explains Julian Jaynes's theory and explores a wide range of related topics such as the ancient Dark Age, the nature of dreams and the birth of Greek tragedy, poetic inspiration, the significance of hearing voices in both the ancient and modern world, the development of consciousness in children, vestiges of bicameralism and the transition to consciousness in early Tibet, the relationship of consciousness and metaphorical language, and how Jaynes's ideas compare to those of other thinkers.

The Julian Jaynes Collection
To further develop your understand Jaynes's theory, we also highly recommend that you read The Julian Jaynes Collection. In this volume, Julian Jaynes answers all of the most frequent questions about the origin of consciousness and a previous mentality called the bicameral mind. The Julian Jaynes Collection includes rare and never before seen articles, lectures, interviews, and in-depth discussions that both clear up misconceptions as well as extend Jaynes's theory into new areas such as the nature of the self, dreams, emotions, art, music, therapy, and the consequences and future of consciousness. The Julian Jaynes Collection is guaranteed to greatly increase your understanding of Julian Jaynes’s fascinating theory.

Reflections on the Dawn of Consciousness: Julian Jaynes's Bicameral Mind Theory Revisited
The first book published by the Julian Jaynes Society, Reflections on the Dawn of Consciousness reignited the worldwide debate about Jaynes’s controversial theory of the origin of consciousness and a previous mentality called the bicameral mind. This book includes an in-depth biography of Julian Jaynes, essays by Jaynes, and the discussion and analysis of Jaynes's theory from a variety of perspectives such as clinical psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, anthropology, linguistics, and ancient history. Reflections on the Dawn of Consciousness is a must read for Jaynes enthusiasts or anyone seeking an in-depth understanding of Jaynes’s theory.

The Minds of the Bible: Speculations on the Cultural Evolution of Human Consciousness
Written by the late and biblical scholar Rabbi James Cohn, The Minds of the Bible takes a deeply thought-provoking look at the Old Testament through the lens of Julian Jaynes’s theory. Rabbi Cohn explains how, when properly dated, the evolution of mental language can be traced through the oldest to the most recent books in the Old Testament, providing a written record of the development of subjective consciousness. Rabbi Cohn also explains how culture and language can have a profound impact on how we think. A gifted writer, Rabbi Cohn’s book is engaging, informative, and easy to understand.

The 'Other' Psychology of Julian Jaynes: Ancient Languages, Sacred Visions, and Forgotten Mentalities
In The ‘Other’ Psychology of Julian Jaynes, Brian J. McVeigh both provides new empirical evidence for the theory, extends Jaynes’s theory into new areas, and explains how Jaynes's thinking actually resonates with a “second” or “other” psychological tradition that explores the cultural-historical evolution of psyche. This thought-provoking book will deepen your understanding of many aspects of Jaynes’s theory, including evidence for the transition from bicameral mentality to subjective consciousness in ancient history, the surprising ubiquity of hearing voices in modern times (a vestige of the bicameral mind), the transformative power of metaphorical language to shape our thoughts, and much more.

For even more reading ideas on Julian Jaynes's theory, see our page The Best Books on Julian Jaynes’s Bicameral Mind Theory.