Description
Audio download of Ralf Funke’s lecture “The Dangerous Metaphor: Wittgenstein and Jaynes and the Rise of Neobehaviorism.”
From the Julian Jaynes Society Conference on Consciousness and Bicameral Studies.
Summary: In 1984 Julian Jaynes gave a lecture in Kirchberg entitled “Four Hypotheses on the Origin of Mind.” The first of these hypotheses, and most interesting from a philosophical point of view, states that subjective consciousness is a social construction dependent on language, built upon metaphors of behavior in the physical world. Wittgenstein would perhaps have been in sympathy with Jaynes. He too thought that consciousness is not some “private theatre.” Inner processes at the bottom of conscious thought, accessible only to the individual, he called a “dangerous metaphor.” Like Jaynes, Wittgenstein held that language is logically prior to consciousness and when he claimed that dogs cannot be hypocrites but also not sincere, Jaynes would certainly have agreed. And like Jaynes, Wittgenstein was not afraid to be accused of behavioristic tendencies.
All audio files are in mp3 format. Upon payment you will receive a link to download the file.
