Consciousness and the Bicameral Mind - The Julian Jaynes Society Podcast Julian Jaynes Society

Conscious Interiority and the Language Trap

Why We Struggle to Explain Consciousness

By Brian J. McVeigh

Read by Michael R. Jacobs (⁠⁠⁠www.theungoogleable.com⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠www.youtube.com/@VoidDenizen⁠⁠⁠).

Cleaning up the mess surrounding the uses of “consciousness” is not an airy, abstruse, or esoteric subject, a topic only for absent-minded academics with their heads in the clouds. This discussion has serious, profound, and practical implications. Neuroscientists employ terminology to delineate the differences between being asleep, in a coma, or in a state of ordinary consciously interiorized mentation. Physicians, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, counselors, and other mental health care providers need to be able to differentiate various forms of cognition to facilitate healing.

Read the complete text from this episode here:

https://www.julianjaynes.org/blog/julian-jaynes-theory/conscious-interiority-and-the-language-trap/

Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.julianjaynes.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

A Relay-Race Model of Conscious Interiority

A Cultural Invention, Consciousness Needs to Be Relearned with Each Generation

By Brian J. McVeigh

Read by Michael R. Jacobs (⁠⁠www.theungoogleable.com⁠⁠, ⁠⁠www.youtube.com/@VoidDenizen⁠⁠).

The word “consciousness” usually evokes something neuroanatomical, intimately bound up with perceptual experiences, an evolutionary psychological feature from our very distant past that is inherent to the brain itself. Consciousness for many seems to be a general term for any type of sensory, conceptual, or thinking process. This leads to muddled theorizing.

Read the complete text from this episode here:

https://www.julianjaynes.org/blog/julian-jaynes-theory/a-relay-race-model-of-conscious-interiority/

Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.julianjaynes.org⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Consciousness Is a Cultural Add-on

A Product of History Not Reducible to Neurology, Conscious Interiority Is Like Mathematics

By Brian J. McVeigh

Read by Michael R. Jacobs (⁠www.theungoogleable.com⁠, ⁠www.youtube.com/@VoidDenizen⁠).

When we hear the word “consciousness” many of us, in a knee-jerk manner, associate it with neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, or something physically inborn. We also link it to perceptual or cognitive processes that are non-historical and non-cultural. However, according to Jaynesian psychology, these are all misleading assumptions, since consciousness is not necessary for perception, learning, and reasoning. It is extra-genetic and a product of sociocultural forces and it entered the historical scene relatively recently, about three millennia ago. Indeed, as a culturally-configured form of knowledge, consciousness is closer to mathematics or other domains of learning. Consciousness is a very special form of knowledge, of course, but an array of socially-acquired ideas nevertheless. Let’s consider how mathematics is similar to consciousness.

Read the complete text from this episode here:

https://www.julianjaynes.org/blog/julian-jaynes-theory/consciousness-is-a-cultural-add-on/

Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at ⁠⁠⁠www.julianjaynes.org⁠⁠⁠.

Jaynesian Therapeutics and the Self-healing Mind: Part 2

Lessons from Hallucinations, Hypnosis, and Meditation

By Brian J. McVeigh

Read by Michael R. Jacobs (www.theungoogleable.com, www.youtube.com/@VoidDenizen).

In Part 1 we looked at how something we take for granted — consciousness — is actually an active ingredient that can aid in the repair of the mind for certain mental disorders. In this Part we explore how anomalous psychological experiences hold lessons for how consciousness relates to the self-healing mind. Various manifestations of mentality — ordinary consciousness, hallucinations, hypnosis, meditation — are like a colorful tapestry with different patterns but woven together with the same threads. The challenge is disentangling and isolating the threads so as to understand the psychological processes behind these phenomena, especially since this can help understand the therapeutic benefits of certain mental exercises.

Read the complete text from this episode here:

https://www.julianjaynes.org/blog/julian-jaynes-theory/jaynesian-therapeutics-and-the-self-healing-mind-part-2-of-2/

Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at ⁠⁠www.julianjaynes.org⁠⁠.

Jaynesian Therapeutics and the Self-healing Mind: Part 1

Harnessing the Active Ingredients of Psychotherapy

By Brian J. McVeigh

Read by Michael R. Jacobs (www.theungoogleable.com). His YouTube channel is www.youtube.com/@VoidDenizen.

It is an interesting fact that the success rates for different psychotherapies are about the same. This is why researchers have searched for “common factors” that facilitate the healing process. The goal, then, should be to discover the common “active ingredients” of all therapies, e.g., the personality of the therapist, the “therapeutic alliance.” Could consciousness itself constitute a common factor that can be cultivated in order to repair troubled minds? Could consciousness underlie the effectiveness of the self-healing mind?

Read the complete text from this episode here:

https://www.julianjaynes.org/blog/julian-jaynes-theory/jaynesian-therapeutics-and-the-self-healing-mind-part-1-of-2/

Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at ⁠www.julianjaynes.org⁠.

Appreciating Other Facets of Jaynesian Psychology: Part 2

By Brian J. McVeigh

In Part 1 of “Appreciating Other Facets of Jaynesian Psychology” I began a discussion of aspects of Jaynesian psychology that if appreciated, add depth and perhaps persuasiveness to Jaynes’s arguments. I focused on how understanding Jaynes investigation of how language has constructed conscious interiority. Here I introduce some more facets of Jaynesian psychology. I suggest that given the richness and breadth of Jaynes’s thinking, we need to propose a “Jaynesian intellectual paradigm” that goes beyond mere psychological theorizing.

Read the complete text from this episode here:

https://www.julianjaynes.org/blog/julian-jaynes-theory/appreciating-other-facets-of-jaynesian-psychology-part-2/

Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at www.julianjaynes.org.