Difference between revisions 560866774 and 560866920 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]]
| publisher = [[Houghton Mifflin Company]]
| release_date = 1976
| media_type = Print
| pages = 467
| isbn = 0-395-32932-9
}}
'''''The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind''''' is a 1976 book by [[Julian Jaynes]] which makes the case that a bicameral mentality, a state in which cognitive functions are divided between one part of the brain which appears to be "speaking", and a second part which listens and obeys, was the normal and ubiquitous state of the human [[mind]] as recently as 3000 years ago.

== Jaynes' case for bicameralismargument ==

Jaynes built a case for his hypothesis that human brains existed in a bicameral state until as recently as 3000 years ago by citing evidence from many diverse sources including historical literature. He took an [[interdisciplinary]] approach, drawing data from many different fields.<ref name="EvidenceSummary">{{cite web | year=1998–2006 | last=Kuijsten | first=Marcel | url=http://www.julianjaynes.org/evidence_summary.php | title=Summary of Evidence | accessdate=2006-05-22}}</ref> (contracted; show full)trospection]], and there is no apparent indication that the writers were self-aware. According to Jaynes, the older portions of the [[Old Testament]] (such as the [[Book of Amos]]) have few or none of the features of some later books of the Old Testament (such as [[Ecclesiastes]]) as well as later works such as Homer's ''[[Odyssey]]'', which show indications of a profoundly different kind of mentality — an early form of consciousness.<ref name="EvidenceSummary" />


In ancient times, Jaynes noted, gods were generally much more numerous and much more [[anthropomorphic]] than in modern times, and speculates that this was because each bicameral person had their own "god" who reflected their own desires and experiences.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Stove | first=D.C. | year=1989 | month=April | title=The Oracles & Their Cessation | journal=Encounter | volume=72 | issue=4 | pages=30–38 | issn=0013-7073}}</ref> He alsoJaynes noted that in ancient societies the corpses of the dead were often treated as though still alive (being seated, dressed and even fed) and argued that the dead bodies were presumed to be still living and the source of auditory hallucinations (see [[ancestor worship]]).<ref name="EvidenceSummary" /> This adaptation to the village communities of 100 individuals or more formed the core of religion. Unlike today's hallucinations, the voices of ancient times were structured by cultural norms(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]]