Book · 1976 · Consciousness
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind
- mentions
- 11
- people
- 8
- podcasts
- 6
- episodes
- 8
- critical mentions
- 0
One of the things that's great about it is that it's a beautifully written book.
What they say about it
- Published in 19764
The best things said about it
Consciousness is a much smaller part of our mental life than we're conscious of.
Jaynes argued that consciousness itself, this thing inside of us...
That's one of my favorite books.
Where and when it comes up
Mentions per year
How it comes up
Most mentions, by podcast
8 people who brought it up
Why people recommend it
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes is a provocative 1976 psychological study proposing that ancient humans were not consciously self-aware but instead operated with a bicameral mind that heard divine auditory hallucinations. On the Lex Fridman Podcast, Brian Muraresku recommended the text while exploring ancient consciousness and the history of internal voices. The book's radical thesis has frequently been analyzed and debated by scholars and podcast hosts alike. Martin Seligman discussed Jaynes's ideas on Modern Wisdom, recalling his former teacher's hypothesis regarding the emergence of human consciousness. Dwarkesh Patel brought up the famous theory on Dwarkesh Podcast to examine ancient psychology and historical anomalies. Josh Clark explored the text on Stuff You Should Know, reading passages to illustrate how small a role active consciousness plays in human mental life and how Jaynes used Homer's Iliad to argue that early humans functioned essentially as automatons. Erik Hoel and Chris Williamson also engaged with the classic study on Modern Wisdom and EconTalk, praising its engaging writing style and discussing its enduring impact on theories of free will, historical self-knowledge, and the fundamental mysteries of the human mind.
Every mention
Brian Muraresku julian janes writes a great book um the origins of consciousness and the breakdown of the bicameral mind 1
“julian janes writes a great book um the origins of consciousness and the breakdown of the bicameral mind”
Erik Hoel Julian James wrote this this classic um back in I mean 1976 called the the origin of Consciousness and the… 2
“Julian James wrote this this classic um back in I mean 1976 called the the origin of Consciousness and the breakdown of the bicameral mind and one of the things that's great about it is that it's a beautifully written book”
“But this thesis comes from Julian Jaynes in a book that came out in 1976, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind.”
Josh Clark And this is from the actual book in 1976 and it's a little little mind-blowy. I kind of like it. Consciousn… 2
“And this is from the actual book in 1976 and it's a little little mind-blowy. I kind of like it. Consciousness is a much smaller part of our mental life than we're conscious of.”
“I know one of the things he wrote a lot about in his book in 1976 was the it was Homer's Iliad because he's kind of like, here's proof right here. I mean, if you look at the Iliad, they were basically automatons.”
Sheldon Solomon uh julian james the origin of consciousness and the breakdown of the bicameral mind and so to answer your q… 2
“uh julian james the origin of consciousness and the breakdown of the bicameral mind and so to answer your question and that's one of my favorite books”
“julian james the origin of consciousness and the breakdown of the bicameral mind And so to answer your question”
Chris Williamson Julian James wrote this this classic back in I mean 1976 called the the origin of Consciousness and the bre… 1
“Julian James wrote this this classic back in I mean 1976 called the the origin of Consciousness and the breakdown of the bicameral mind”
Dwarkesh Patel Julian Jaynes has this famous theory in The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. 1
“Julian Jaynes has this famous theory in The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind.”
Martin Seligman one major hypothesis, this is of Julian Jaynes' wonderful book called "The Bicameral Mind" about 50 years a… 1
“one major hypothesis, this is of Julian Jaynes' wonderful book called "The Bicameral Mind" about 50 years ago. He was a teacher of mine. Jaynes argued that consciousness itself, this thing inside of us”
Robert Greene there's this concept in ancient times there's a great book called the bamal mind I don't know if you're fam… 1
“there's this concept in ancient times there's a great book called the bamal mind I don't know if you're familiar I've heard of it”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
“And yes yes we know all matter is essentially Just Energy... like in the bicameral Minds”