Evidence for Bicameral Mentality in the Bible
Brian J. McVeigh interviewed by Marcel Kuijsten, in Marcel Kuijsten (ed.), Conversations on Consciousness and the Bicameral Mind (Julian Jaynes Society, 2022).
Summary: Brian J. McVeigh interviewed by Marcel Kuijsten on the evidence for bicameral mentality and the transition to consciousness in the Bible, as detailed in his book The Psychology of the Bible: Explaining Divine Voices and Visions.
Excerpt: Marcel Kuijsten: You’ve recently published a book titled The Psychology of the Bible: Explaining Divine Voices and Visions. To start with, could you give us a summary of your new book and some of your main arguments?
Brian McVeigh: This book really is inspired by my interest in how history and psychology interact. And I think there’s no better record than the Bible, because it deals with so many things that really aren’t adequately explained in the literature, especially in psychology. I look at things like prophecy, the role of idolatry, the meaning of angels, and the Ark of the Covenant. I try to address any of the main topics or themes that people usually think of when they hear the word “Bible,” and of course I look at things from a Jaynesian perspective. …