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Florida Space Coast Discussion of Jaynes throughout 2018

Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 5:55 am
by LutherSetzer
Our local Ayn Rand book discussion group will be doing a chapter-by-chapter reading and discussion of The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes the third Saturday of each month at 6 pm at:

Books-A-Million Yogurt Mountain in the Merritt Square Mall
777 E Merritt Island Cswy Ste 115
Merritt Island, FL 32952

If you have any questions, just e-mail [email protected] or call (321) 544-7435.

Feel free to register through our calendar of events at

https://www.eventbrite.com/o/propeltm-12948885111

We hope to see you there!

Re: Florida Space Coast Discussion of Jaynes throughout 2018

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 12:11 pm
by Moderator
I hope it was a success!

Re: Florida Space Coast Discussion of Jaynes throughout 2018

Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2018 2:55 am
by LutherSetzer
Moderator wrote:I hope it was a success!
Yes and no. We have discussed one to two chapters per month since the start of the year and will conclude the book tonight. We were impressed by the breadth and depths of the author's knowledge of history, religion, anthropology, and especially archaeology. We still found the overall theory shaky. I am more convinced than some of my peers, though nowhere close to a "true believer" in bicameralism. It would have helped if we had a professional neurologist in our group with experience in some of these phenomena such as hypnosis and hallucinations.

Re: Florida Space Coast Discussion of Jaynes throughout 2018

Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2020 4:42 am
by benjamindavidsteele
Before you pass judgment on Julian Jaynes' theory, I'd recommend more fully exploring the info about it, as there is so much info available. The book itself is, of course, solid scholarship. But it's many decades old at this point having originally been published about a half century ago.

Check out the more recent publications on Jaynes' work, including a collection of other work by Jaynes and a collection of talks by Jaynes. Most interesting is the Jaynesian scholarship that has been done since Jaynes' death. Also, maybe check out the other related books, some of which discuss Jaynes' hypotheses in depth or otherwise offer intriguing context, especially Susan Blackmore, John Geiger, Tor Norretranders, and Walter J. Ong.

More directly in defense of Jaynes' views, check out two sections on this website: About Julian Jaynes' Theory and Supporting Evidence: New Research Supporting Jaynes' Bicameral Mind Theory. A ton of new evidence has come out over the decades that further supports many of his positions.