Introductory Interviews

Watch introductory interviews on Julian Jaynes’s theory of the origin of consciousness and the bicameral mind, as well as other related interviews.

Watch full-length lectures and interviews in the Member Area, including lectures by Julian Jaynes, interviews with Julian Jaynes and experts on Jaynes’s theory, conference lectures on Jaynes’s theory, and much more. Log in or Sign up. To get the latest updates, please subscribe to our mailing list and to our YouTube Channel.

Marcel Kuijsten
“Julian Jaynes, the Bicameral Mind, and the Origin of Consciousness “
Includes discussion of the problem of consciousness, what is consciousness is and is not according to Julian Jaynes, the importance of metaphorical language and writing, features of consciousness, Nicholas Humphrey’s research on cave art and autism, evidence from the Iliad, ancient bicameral civilizations, the Thera explosion and ensuing tsunami, and Michael Carr’s research on the bicameral mind in China. In the second hour, Marcel Kuijsten discusses the role of drugs, entheogens, hallucinogens in eliciting bicameral hallucinations, the importance of dreams in documenting the transition from bicamerality to consciousness, the origin of religion and the bicameral mind, and more. Also discussed is the significance to the theory of religious figures like Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, to more modern people like William Blake, Emanuel Swedenborg and Joseph Smith.
Marcel Kuijsten
“Julian Jaynes and the Bicameral Mind Theory”
Includes an introduction to Julian Jaynes’s theory, an explanation of what consciousness is and is not according to Julian Jaynes, consciousness and language, an explanation of the bicameral mind, follow up books on Jaynes’s theory, the origin of the Julian Jaynes Society, misconceptions about Jaynes’s theory, confusion over the term “consciousness,” the origin of religion and the bicameral mind, the nature of voice hearing, new evidence for Jaynes’s theory, and much more.