Overview of Julian Jaynes’s Theory of Consciousness and the Bicameral Mind
In January of 1977 Princeton University psychologist Julian Jaynes (1920–1997) put forth a bold new theory of the origin of consciousness and a previous mentality known as the bicameral mind in the controversial but critically acclaimed book The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. Jaynes was far ahead of his time, and his theory remains as relevant and influential today as when it was first published.
Jaynes asserts that consciousness did not arise far back in human evolution but is a learned process based on metaphorical language. Prior to the development of consciousness, Jaynes argues humans operated under a previous mentality he called the bicameral (‘two-chambered’) mind. In the place of an internal dialogue, bicameral people experienced auditory hallucinations directing their actions, similar to the command hallucinations experienced by many people who hear voices today. These hallucinations were interpreted as the voices of chiefs, rulers, or the gods.
Consciousness — as he carefully defines it — is a learned process based on metaphorical language. Misunderstandings about Jaynes’s theory usually stem from not understanding Jaynes’s more precise definition of consciousness.
That preceding the development of consciousness there was a different mentality based on verbal hallucinations called the bicameral (‘two-chambered’) mind.
Dating the development of consciousness (as Jaynes carefully defines it) to around the end of the second millennium B.C.E. in Greece and Mesopotamia. The transition occurred at different times in other parts of the world.
The neurological model for the bicameral mind, which has now been confirmed by dozens of brain imaging studies.
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