Difference between revisions 560824872 and 560825109 on enwiki

{{Infobox book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name = The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind
| image =
| caption =
| author = [[Julian Jaynes]]
| country = [[United States]]
| language = [[English language|English]]
| genre = [[Psychology]]
(contracted; show full)is simply a vestige of humanity's earlier state.<ref name="EvidenceSummary" /> Recent evidence shows that many schizophrenics don't just hear random voices but experience "command hallucinations" instructing their behavior or urging them to commit certain acts. As support for Jaynes's argument, these command hallucinations are little different from the commands from gods which feature so prominently in ancient stories.<ref name="EvidenceSummary" />


=== Breakdown of bicameralism ===⏎
Jaynes theorized that a shift from bicameralism marked the beginning of [[introspection]] and [[consciousness]] as we know it today. According to Jaynes, this bicameral mentality began malfunctioning or "breaking down" during the second millennium BC. He speculates that primitive ancient societies tended to collapse periodically, (as in Egypt's Intermediate Periods and the periodically vanishing cities of the Mayas) as changes in the environment strained the socio-cultural equilibria sustaine(contracted; show full)ng bicameral according to Jaynes, could be killed.<ref>Jaynes, Julian. (1976) ''The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind''. Pg. 221</ref><ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Zechariah%2013:3-4;&version=31; Zechariah, 13: 2-3]</ref> Leftovers of the bicameral mind today, according to Jaynes, include religion, [[hypnosis]], possession, schizophrenia and the general sense of need for external authority in decision-making.


== Diffusion ==

Philosopher Gary Williams has recently defended Julian Jaynes against Ned Block's criticisms<ref>Block, N. (1981). Review of Julian Jayne's  Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. Cognition and Brain Theory, 4, 81-83.</ref> in the journal ''Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=Gary |last2= |first2= |year=2010 |title= What is it like to be nonconscious? A defense of Julian Jaynes |journal= Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences |volume= |issue= |pages= |publisher= |doi= |url=http://www.springerlink.com/content/e832238u36211688/ |accessdate= }}</ref>

A collection of Jaynes's essays on bicameralism combined with those of contemporary scholars was published in 2007, in a book titled ''Reflections on the Dawn of Consciousness: Julian Jaynes's Bicameral Mind Theory Revisited''.<ref>{{cite book |last= Kuijsten |first= Marcel | title= Reflections on the Dawn of Consciousness: Julian Jaynes's Bicameral Mind Theory Revisited |publisher= Julian Jaynes Society |year= 2007 |isbn=0-9790744-0-1}}</ref> Included in this book is new support for Jaynes's theory by Marcel Kuijsten, psychological anthropologist [[Brian J. McVeigh]], psychologists John Limber and Scott Greer, clinical psychologist John Hamilton, philosophers Jan Sleutels and [[David Stove]], and sinologist Michael Carr (see [[Shi (personator)|''shi'' "personator"]]). The book also contains an extensive biography of Julian Jaynes by historian of psychology William Woodward and June Tower, and a Foreword by neuroscientist [[Michael Persinger]].⏎
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== Scholarly reception ==
Jaynes's [[hypothesis]] remains controversial. The primary scientific criticism has been that the conclusions Jaynes drew had no basis in neuropsychiatric fact at that time.<ref>Asaad G, Shapiro B. What about the bicameral mind? Am J Psychiatry 1987;144:696</ref>

(contracted; show full)ciousness ("introspectable mind-space") and other mental processes such as cognition, learning, and sense and perception—which occur in all animals. He argues that this distinction is frequently not recognized by those offering critiques of Jaynes' theory.<ref>{{cite journal | last=McVeigh | first=Brian | year=2007 | title=Elephants in the Psychology Department: Overcoming Intellectual Barriers to Understanding Julian Jaynes's Theory | journal=Julian Jaynes Society}}</ref>


Philosopher Gary Williams has recently defended Julian Jaynes against Ned Block's criticisms<ref>Block, N. (1981). Review of Julian Jayne's  Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. Cognition and Brain Theory, 4, 81-83.</ref> in the journal ''Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=Gary |last2= |first2= |year=2010 |title= What is it like to be nonconscious? A defense of Julian Jaynes |journal= Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences |volume= |issue= |pages= |publisher= |doi= |url=http://www.springerlink.com/content/e832238u36211688/ |accessdate= }}</ref>

A collection of Jaynes's essays on bicameralism combined with those of contemporary scholars was published in 2007, in a book titled ''Reflections on the Dawn of Consciousness: Julian Jaynes's Bicameral Mind Theory Revisited''.<ref>{{cite book |last= Kuijsten |first= Marcel | title= Reflections on the Dawn of Consciousness: Julian Jaynes's Bicameral Mind Theory Revisited |publisher= Julian Jaynes Society |year= 2007 |isbn=0-9790744-0-1}}</ref> Included in this book is new support for Jaynes's theory by Marcel Kuijsten, psychological anthropologist [[Brian J. McVeigh]], psychologists John Limber and Scott Greer, clinical psychologist John Hamilton, philosophers Jan Sleutels and [[David Stove]], and sinologist Michael Carr (see [[Shi (personator)|''shi'' "personator"]]). The book also contains an extensive biography of Julian Jaynes by historian of psychology William Woodward and June Tower, and a Foreword by neuroscientist [[Michael Persinger]].⏎
⏎
== Similar ideas ==
In his book ''[[The Master and His Emissary]]'', psychiatrist [[Iain McGilchrist]] reviews scientific research into the role of the brain's hemispheres, and cultural evidence, and he proposes that since the time of Plato the left hemisphere of the brain (the "emissary" in the title) has increasingly taken over from the right hemisphere (the "master"), to our detriment. McGilchrist, while accepting Jayne's intention, felt that Jayne's(contracted; show full)* [http://www.erikweijers.nl/pages/translations/psychology/the-origin-of-consciousness.php ''The Origin of consciousness'': Summary, selected quotes and review]

{{Laterality}}

[[Category:1976 books]]
[[Category:English-language books]]
[[Category:Neuroscience books]]
[[Category:Cognitive science literature]]