The ORIGIN OF CONSCIOUSNESS
In The BREAKDOWN Of The BICAMERAL MIND by Julian Jaynes
(Review by Mitch Carter)In "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind" Julian Jaynes says that consciousness did not originate with language and civilization as commonly thought. Consciousness came much later when, through language, we developed the ability to use metaphors.
Metaphors, where we hold something familiar in our mind, and use it to describe something abstract. This gave man the ability to develop an "imaginary space" in his mind for the analog "I". Man could now see (or imagine) himself walking along the shore.
Man developed the ability to learn lessons from the past and plan for the future. Jaynes claims this changed us from fearful, confused, and obedient followers (automatons) to individuals with a subjective consciousness. Conscious man became aware of his self and consequently began to contrive for his self adavantage. He had no sense of morals or right and wrong.
Julian Jaynes believes man developed a subjective consciousness in the latter half of the second millennium B.C. Man’s consciousness was precipitated by a gigantic volcanic eruption offshore, which triggered a huge tsunami that wiped out civilization. The remnants of humanity converged in large numbers for protection from marauding tribes.
The first thing man did with his subjective consciousness was to subject his fellow citizens to deceit, violence, and murder. People who had lived as neighbors now attacked, raped and murdered the vulnerable and took their belongings. Domination and slavery were inflicted on man, by his fellow man for self advantage.
Prior to man’s subjective consciousness civilization was peopled by bicameral man. That is men living as automatons taking orders from voices they believed were gods. Bicameral man didn't conceive of a self, and never acted for self advantage. Jaynes claims, with convincing evidence, the voices came from man’s right brain. The right brain is the center of man’s creativity, and the left brain is where language is formed. When civilization was demolished the voices ceased. When people were thrust into instability the voices the individuals heard could no longer agree, and the bicameral mind could no longer function.
Julian Jaynes argues with compelling logic the voices bicameral man heard were hallucinations. The hallucinations came from the lower half of the right brain (creativity). He says we still have the capacity to hallucinate, but we don’t generally use it. He said the history of conscious man has been of being lost, confused and on a quest to reconnect with the hallucinated gods, who he believed had abandoned him.
Julian Jaynes says man’s consciousness still alternates between his right brain (creativity) and his left brain (language). Man doesn’t remember in his left brain, what he was conscious of in his right brain. Mr. Jaynes says the left brain is like "a jealous master" that doesn't want to share power. He says the right brain communicates with feelings. Artists are able to create art, because they are somehow able to remember in their left brain a portion of what they were aware of in their right brain. (See Creativity)
Mr. Jaynes believes that the right brain went on learning and understanding the world from the input of information supplied to the brain through our senses and imagination. But the left brain, with its deceit, guile, and self gratification of petty desires, has built a network of rationalizations that block it from seeing reality. The reality the left brain sees is a reality contrived to self serving ends. Jaynes says man is still in transition from his bicameral state to his conscious state; we are still working toward some "new mentality". (See SUBJECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS)