The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind

By: Julian Jaynes

Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin

Length: 16 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

At the heart of this classic, seminal book is Julian Jaynes' still-controversial thesis that human consciousness did not begin far back in animal evolution but instead is a learned process that came about only 3,000 years ago and is still developing. The implications of this revolutionary scientific paradigm extend into virtually every aspect of our psychology, our history and culture, our religion - and indeed our future.

©1976, 1990 Julian Jaynes (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Thoughtful, plausible, interesting

An fascinating and plausible theory, , opening your eyes to possible origins of the gods through close examination of historical literature. But would have been much more re-readable at about a third of its length.

Fascinating discussion

I love a good reality bending book. What's fascinating about this one is that even if you don't agree with his conclusions, you'll come away with an appreciation of how wildly different the world could be from your current view of reality.

Excellent!!!

Excellent Theory and arguments, thank you Julian Jaynes for your contribution to The Wheel of Science!!!

Wonderful.

A fascinating and thought provoking book, beautifully presented and read in a clear, well modulated way.

I had to buy the book.... AMAZING...

This book is worth having both to read and listen to. As an ambidextroit the book had a lot of insightful things. Definitely giving it another listen down the road

What a sweeping description of humanity’s progress

I encountered so many new thoughts in this sweeping description of humanity’s progress. I need to listen to it again

Wonderful and well thought out

I chose this rating because I learned so much and would certainly read it again!

Psyche pronounced as see-key 44 times

Nothing to add to the 5-star reviews about this phenomenal essay. However, for a book with the word 'MIND' in the title it's painful to hear the narrator, James Patrick Cronin, pronounce 'psyche' as 'see-key' forty-four (44) times over 26 of its 469 pages. The word psyche is used twice on page 69, once on page 71, once on page 257 and then forty (40) times beginning on page 270 under the section titled 'Psyche' through page 292. On page 291 the word 'psyche' is used nine (9) times. Here it is, read it out loud for yourself as "see-key" - - - "But the 'see-key' here is somewhat the same, a something of a man which leaves the body at death. And what the Hades view of 'see-key' may be is a composite of the Pythagorean teaching with the older view of the buried dead in Greek antiquity. All this curious development of the sixth century B.C. is extremely important for psychology. For with this wrenching of 'see-key' = life over to 'see-key' = soul, there came other changes to balance it as the enormous inner tensions of a lexicon always do. The word soma had meant corpse or deadness, the opposite of 'see-key' as livingness. So now, as 'see-key' becomes soul, so soma remains as its opposite, becoming body. And dualism, the supposed separation of soul and body, has begun. But the matter does not stop there. In Pindar, Heraclitus, and others around 500 B.C., 'see-key' and nous begin to coalesce. It is now the conscious subjective mind-space and its self that is opposed to the material body. Cults spring up about this new wonder-provoking division between 'see-key' and soma. It both excites and seems to explain the new conscious experience, thus reinforcing its very existence. The conscious 'see-key' is imprisoned in the body as in a tomb." - - - It's just atrocious. He mangles the pronunciation of other words - but this is the most prolific sputter that actually has a ruinous and detracting impact. FYI: In the book, the word 'psyche' is italicized every time. Just stunning.

An Intriguing & Research-based Thought Experiment

This essay explores four hypotheses that challenge our historical understanding of human perception and reality.

Eye opening.

Interesting way of understanding the modern self and historical origins of consciousness. Well worth the time.