Origins of Consciousness, Schizophrenia, and Unconscious Civilizations

A Review of ideas in Julian Jaynes’ book, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind

I originally started writing about the books I read in order to help cement their ideas in my mind. I’m not looking to convince or persuade.

In order to truly understand something, you should be able to explain it. That’s what I am doing here. Yes, I realize it’s crazy to write anything on Medium that’s this long because you are paid by how many people read or something like that. But that’s fine. I’m not looking to get paid (although I wouldn’t send back the check). And this book completely changed how I see humanity and the world we have created, so I didn’t want to leave much out, for the purposes of my own understanding.

If this inspires you to read Julian Jaynes, wonderful. I’d love to talk about it with anyone who has an open mind. But please do remember that it is not my idea(s) and reading this summary is not a substitute for reading the book. The amount of evidence and concepts I don’t cover are crucial. Either way, thanks for stopping by.

Imagine a world of schizophrenics. A world where everyone hears voices and obeys them. There is no escaping them because they…