Re: Jaynes credible?

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Morgan Curtis wrote:
>
> I just read Julian Jaynes "History of Consciousness etc" and I am
> wondering were his medical model (if you can call it that) of the
> bichameral mind stands in relation to current theories of language and
> brain physiology. Has he gained credibility with the "establishment" or
> is he considered a crack pot? What do you think is right or wrong about
> his theory of mind? I can see how he might appeal to an individual with a
> Jungian disposition but where does he stand with the rest of us? Is the
> bichameral mind theory good anthropology?
>
> Morgan Curtis

I'd like to see some followups to this post. My relatively uninformed
opinion is that Jaynes *is* a crackpot, but I'd really like to know what
others think.

I believe that, among other things, he hypothesized that humans weren't
conscious until sometime around the civilization of Ancient Greece. He
claimed (I believe) that the "voices of the Gods" that they heard were
actually their left brains talking to their right brains, or vice versa.

Steve Barnard

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