My Letter from Julian Jaynes
Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 6:58 pm
As noted elsewhere, my copy of the new Jaynes book arrived yesterday. and this gave me the energy to go looking for the letter Jaynes sent me many years ago.
I read "The Origin of Consciousness" repeatedly in 1979-80, and it was electrifying for me. My father, Stanley B. Kimball, was a professor of Slavic history, and so I grew up with a strong history background. My father was also deeply religious, so I learned my Bible lessons as well. Reading Jaynes revolutionized my views of history and religion and mankind, but when I was done I was mildly dissatisfied with some of his biblical scholarship. It was many years ago, but I do recall I felt that his discussion of Ecclesiastes overlooked the fact that many people feel it was written by Solomon.
In any event, I wrote Jaynes a letter of (no doubt) fulsome praise, asking about his next book and noting my biblical scholarship concerns. He wrote me back some time later:
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
September 9, 1980
Chase Kimball
(address)
Dear Mr. Kimball:
Thanks for your encouraging letter, and your comments on the Old Testament are well taken.
My next book, I'm afraid, will not appear for at least two years.
Sincerely,
Julian Jaynes
*********
It's too bad the letter is not more revealing, but still, it's addressed to me and signed by Jaynes. I can scan a copy for anyone who is interested, but I am not sure what anyone would hope to learn from it.
Chase
I read "The Origin of Consciousness" repeatedly in 1979-80, and it was electrifying for me. My father, Stanley B. Kimball, was a professor of Slavic history, and so I grew up with a strong history background. My father was also deeply religious, so I learned my Bible lessons as well. Reading Jaynes revolutionized my views of history and religion and mankind, but when I was done I was mildly dissatisfied with some of his biblical scholarship. It was many years ago, but I do recall I felt that his discussion of Ecclesiastes overlooked the fact that many people feel it was written by Solomon.
In any event, I wrote Jaynes a letter of (no doubt) fulsome praise, asking about his next book and noting my biblical scholarship concerns. He wrote me back some time later:
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
September 9, 1980
Chase Kimball
(address)
Dear Mr. Kimball:
Thanks for your encouraging letter, and your comments on the Old Testament are well taken.
My next book, I'm afraid, will not appear for at least two years.
Sincerely,
Julian Jaynes
*********
It's too bad the letter is not more revealing, but still, it's addressed to me and signed by Jaynes. I can scan a copy for anyone who is interested, but I am not sure what anyone would hope to learn from it.
Chase