Origin of the Gods
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 2:34 pm
Given that we're all Jaynes enthusiasts, I feel safe assuming that everyone here is willing to put up with absurd yet evidence based theories. Here's one for you: Terrence Mckenna's stoned ape theory. In a nutshell, as our primate ancestors descended from the trees into the African grasslands, they began incorporating new foods into their diets, the most important (as far as were concerned) of which were the fungi from the genus Psilocybe, which have become notoriously known as magic mushrooms. According to Terrence's speculation, backed by some hard evidence on the subject, the use of 'magic mushrooms' provided evolutionary advantages to those primates utilizing them. Persistent use of these fungi over many millennia catalyzed the unique perceptual abilities of humans, perhaps resulting in language, religion, and consciousness. While I am in no way prepared to attribute the birth of language to mushrooms, it is undeniable that these fungi open up the extraordinary capabilities of the mind and without doubt aid in the processes of metaphor. I would thus be comfortable proposing that these psilocybin containing mushrooms (psilocybin is the pyschoactive alkaloid in magic mushrooms - i.e. the stuff that gets you high) were responsible for the rapid growth of human language and culture on the basis of metaphor, of which Jaynes discussed. I would also suggest that the use of magic mushrooms occasioned the first hallucinations (as they do in recreational/scientific/spiritual use today), and thus it is from these fungi that religion developed. It is important here to stress that the use of psychoactive chemicals has been apart of human culture and religion as far back as we can tell, and these drugs are far more important to the development of mankind than the United States' hippy-paranoid, power hungry, fear-of-the-unknown government would have you believe.
I sincerely encourage you to explore the topic. I recently finished reading Terrence Mckenna's "Food of the Gods", an astounding look at the use of drugs in human culture since the dawn of man. I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone with an intellectual appetite (which includes all of you, seeing as you're reading a Julian Jaynes message board - GO GET THAT BOOK!).
Basically, at this point in my life, I feel that there are two fundamental ideas which must be merged to provide a coherent framework with which to study psychology (biology has evolution; physics has quantum mechanics and relativity; psychology has Freud? Behaviorism? Jung? Descartes? Buddhism? A.I.? nothing coherent? you get my point).
I thus encourage us, as a community, to pursue the problem of the psychedelic drugs and the bicameral mind. How are they related? Did psychedelics encourage the development of the bicameral mind? What role does the bicameral mind play in a psychedelic 'trip', and so on....
As a final statement, let me point out that when research first began in the area of these psychoactive drugs, the term psychomimetic was employed, as it was thought that these drugs induced a temporary schizophrenia. Let me repeat: psychedelic drugs --> schizophrenia. Wait a minute! Schizophrenia -> bicameral mind!!! You see what Im getting at. The relationship between these precious drugs and Jaynes' bicameral mind have become too obvious for me to ignore. Let us explore the matter further!
Thanks for reading.
P.S. Psychedelic drugs don't actually induce schizophrenia, 50's researches just didn't have the insight that the 60's researches did. There's much more to the drugs then schizophrenia. They have a long history of use in cultures around the world and are still used today, particularly among South American natives and experimental therapeutic settings. Anything that's been in use for over 9000 years probably isn't doing any real neurological damage. Keep that in mind as you overcome the evil conditioning that's been at work since the hippy disaster. There's much more to say on the topic, but I'll let someone respond before I get too carried away.
I sincerely encourage you to explore the topic. I recently finished reading Terrence Mckenna's "Food of the Gods", an astounding look at the use of drugs in human culture since the dawn of man. I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone with an intellectual appetite (which includes all of you, seeing as you're reading a Julian Jaynes message board - GO GET THAT BOOK!).
Basically, at this point in my life, I feel that there are two fundamental ideas which must be merged to provide a coherent framework with which to study psychology (biology has evolution; physics has quantum mechanics and relativity; psychology has Freud? Behaviorism? Jung? Descartes? Buddhism? A.I.? nothing coherent? you get my point).
I thus encourage us, as a community, to pursue the problem of the psychedelic drugs and the bicameral mind. How are they related? Did psychedelics encourage the development of the bicameral mind? What role does the bicameral mind play in a psychedelic 'trip', and so on....
As a final statement, let me point out that when research first began in the area of these psychoactive drugs, the term psychomimetic was employed, as it was thought that these drugs induced a temporary schizophrenia. Let me repeat: psychedelic drugs --> schizophrenia. Wait a minute! Schizophrenia -> bicameral mind!!! You see what Im getting at. The relationship between these precious drugs and Jaynes' bicameral mind have become too obvious for me to ignore. Let us explore the matter further!
Thanks for reading.
P.S. Psychedelic drugs don't actually induce schizophrenia, 50's researches just didn't have the insight that the 60's researches did. There's much more to the drugs then schizophrenia. They have a long history of use in cultures around the world and are still used today, particularly among South American natives and experimental therapeutic settings. Anything that's been in use for over 9000 years probably isn't doing any real neurological damage. Keep that in mind as you overcome the evil conditioning that's been at work since the hippy disaster. There's much more to say on the topic, but I'll let someone respond before I get too carried away.