Marcel Kuijsten

Advanced Praise for Conversations on Consciousness and the Bicameral Mind:

“Julian Jaynes was my teacher in the early 1960s. … Much psychological science since then points to the possibility that he was right. Right about consciousness, right about ancient history, right about evolution, right about language, even right about Homer. This volume begins to close the gap, bringing Jaynes’s brilliance to the attention and appreciation of the contemporary public.”
— Martin Seligman, Professor of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, and author of The Hope Circuit

“… A marvel of collective scholarship across multiple disciplines. … In this book, you will hear the voices of the most open-minded scholars of our generation.”
— William R. Woodward, Professor of Psychology, The University of New Hampshire, and author of Hermann Lotze: An Intellectual Biography

“Rich with ideas and fertile speculations, this outstanding collection of expert interviews advances the revolutionary work of the psychologist Julian Jaynes.”
— Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Prize Laureate for The Making of the Atomic Bomb

“… It is time for a new generation of … deep thinkers at the heart of every discipline to rediscover Julian Jaynes’s tantalizing hypotheses concerning the origin and nature of human consciousness. This collection of interviews … will enable contemporary readers to understand why Jaynes’s style of inquiry remains as captivating and compelling as ever — and as provocative and controversial. Reader: take the plunge, and join the conversation!”
— Christian Y. Dupont, Ph.D., Associate University Librarian for Collections and Burns Librarian, Boston College, and author of Phenomenology in French Philosophy: Early Encounters

“… Conversations on Consciousness and the Bicameral Mind helps us understand humanity’s development of consciousness over millennia, as well as how we learn it in our first years of life.”
— Loretta Graziano Breuning, Ph.D., author of Habits of a Happy Brain… (mais)

This isn't a sequel to, but a book about, The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes, published by the Julian Jaynes Society and consisting of essays (some by Jaynes himself), and a short biography. Contrary to what some reviewers have written, if you were to read this one first I think it would give you a half-decent overview of Jaynes' theory of consciousness.
   What you won't get though is any idea of how well written the original is - there's some fairly turgid stuff in this one. The exception is an essay which sticks out a mile from the rest: The Oracles and their Cessation by David Stove, about the origin and existence of religion, is written in a style so lively and clear it's worth borrowing the book just to read it.… (mais)

Praise for Julian Jaynes's Theory:

“… A theory that could alter our view of consciousness, revise our conception of the history of mankind, and lay bare the human dilemma in all its existential wonder.” — James E. Morriss, in ETC: A Review of General Semantics

“Some of Jaynes’s original ideas may be the most important of our generation.” — Ernest Rossi, in Psychological Perspectives

“Neuroimaging techniques of today have illuminated and confirmed the importance of Jaynes’s hypothesis.” — Robert Olin in Lancet… (mais)