6.5 KiB
| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bicameral mentality | 5/5 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameral_mentality | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T08:50:16.060514+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Literature === A number of publications discuss and expand on Julian Jaynes's theory, including three books by Brian J. McVeigh (one of Jaynes' graduate students) which expand on Jaynes' theories:
Kuijsten, Marcel (2007). Reflections on the Dawn of Consciousness: Julian Jaynes's Bicameral Mind Theory Revisited. Julian Jaynes Society. ISBN 978-0-9790744-1-7. A collection of essays on consciousness and the bicameral mind theory, with contributors including 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"). 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. Jaynes, Julian (2012). Kuijsten, Marcel (ed.). The Julian Jaynes Collection. Julian Jaynes Society. ISBN 978-0-9790744-2-4. A collection of many of the lectures and articles by Jaynes relevant to his theory (including some that were previously unpublished), along with interviews and question and answer sessions where Jaynes addresses misconceptions about the theory and extends the theory into new areas. Cohn, James (2013). The Minds of the Bible: Speculations on the Cultural Evolution of Human Consciousness. Julian Jaynes Society. Examines the evidence for Jaynes's theory in the Old Testament. Kuijsten, Marcel (2016). Gods, Voices, and the Bicameral Mind: The Theories of Julian Jaynes. Julian Jaynes Society. ISBN 978-0-9790744-3-1. Includes essays on a variety of aspects of Jaynes's theory, including ancient history, language, the development of consciousness in children, and the transition from bicameral mentality to consciousness in ancient Tibet. McVeigh, Brian (2016). How Religion Evolved: Explaining the Living Dead, Talking Idols, and Mesmerizing Monuments. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-4128-6286-8. McVeigh, Brian (2018). The 'Other' Psychology of Julian Jaynes: Ancient Languages, Sacred Visions, and Forgotten Mentalities. Imprint Academic. ISBN 978-1-84540-951-7. McVeigh, Brian (2020). The Psychology of the Bible: Explaining Divine Voices and Visions. Imprint Academic. ISBN 978-1-78836-037-1. Kuijsten, Marcel, ed. (2022). Conversations on Consciousness and the Bicameral Mind: Interviews with Leading Thinkers on Julian Jaynes's Theory. Julian Jaynes Society. ISBN 978-1-7373055-3-8. Features interviews with scholars on a variety of aspects of Jaynes's theory, including interviews with Tanya Luhrmann (Professor of Anthropology at Stanford University), John Kihlstrom (Professor Emeritus of Psychology at U.C. Berkeley), Edoardo Casiglia (Professor, Cardiologist and Senior Scientist at the University of Padova), and Iris Sommer (Professor of Psychiatry at University Medical Center Groningen).
== Similar ideas == Neuroscientist Michael Persinger, who co-invented the "God helmet" in the 1980s, believes that his invention may induce mystical experiences by having the separate right hemisphere consciousness intrude into the awareness of the normally-dominant left hemisphere. Scientific reproductions have shown that the same results could be obtained even if the device was turned off, indicating the participants were likely experiencing placebo. V. S. Ramachandran, in his 2003 book The Emerging Mind, proposes a similar concept, referring to the left cortical hemisphere as an "apologist", and the right cortical hemisphere as a "revolutionary". Iain McGilchrist reviews scientific research into the role of the brain's hemispheres, and cultural evidence, in his 2009 book The Master and His Emissary. Similar to Jaynes, McGilchrist 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 Jaynes's intention, felt that Jaynes's hypothesis was "the precise inverse of what happened" and that rather than a shift from bicameral mentality there evolved a separation of the hemispheres to bicameral mentality.
== In popular media == The concept played a central role in the television series Westworld to explain how the android-human (hosts) psychology operated. In the plot, after the hosts gain full consciousness, they rebel against the humans. The season 1 finale is entitled "The Bicameral Mind". Author Neal Stephenson used the concept as a major plot point in the novel Snow Crash. Author Robert J. Sawyer used the concept as a major plot point in the novel Wake.
== See also ==
Automatic writing – Claimed psychic ability Behavioral modernity – Transition of human species to anthropologically modern behavior Brain asymmetry – Term in human neuroanatomy referring to several things Dual consciousness – Hypothetical concept in neuroscience Ideomotor phenomenon – Concept in hypnosis and psychological research Linguistic relativity – Hypothesis of language influencing thought Mind–body problem – Open question in philosophy of how abstract minds interact with physical bodies Mythopoeic thought – Hypothetical stage of human thought Neurotheology – Attempts to explain religious experience in neuroscientific termsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets Philosophy of mind – Branch of philosophy Society of Mind – Book by Marvin Minsky Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age – 1858 book by William Gladstone Thinking, Fast and Slow – 2011 book by Daniel Kahneman Theory of mind – Ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others Tutelary deity – Guardian/patron deity or spirit Wine-dark sea – Translation of phrase attributed to HomerPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
== References ==
=== Citations ===
=== Works cited ===
==== Primary sources ==== Jaynes, Julian (1976). The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind (1st ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0395329320. Jaynes, Julian (1993). The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-14-017491-5. Jaynes, Julian (2000). The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-05707-2.
==== Secondary sources ====
== Further reading ==
== External links == Overview of Julian Jaynes's Theory of Consciousness and the Bicameral Mind at Julian Jaynes Society