From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!ihnp4!ihuxr!lew Newsgroups: net.philosophy Title: Any Julian Jaynes fans on the net? Article-I.D.: ihuxr.329 Posted: Sun Feb 13 22:54:45 1983 Received: Wed Feb 16 01:40:26 1983 Reply-To: lew@ihuxr.UUCP (Lew Mammel, Jr.) Anybody read "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind" by Julian Jaynes? It is an exposition of a rather wild-eyed theory of the nature and origin of consciousness - except that it makes a hell of a lot of sense. It didn't carry me all the way, but I really enjoyed the first part of the book, in which the author sets out to define first what consciousness is NOT. This is one of the few books I've read on this topic which didn't make me feel like throwing it down in disgust. I usually have this reaction because most authors inevitably seem to overlook something I regard as basic, or make some boneheaded (to me) assertion. I was quite in sympathy with Jaynes' basic outlook, though. That probably means I'm as loony as he is. Lew Mammel, Jr. ihuxr!lew