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No. 43: Jan-Feb 1986

[2]Issue Contents
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THE VOICE OF GOD

Back in 1976, Julian Jaynes promulgated a novel hypothesis about
ancient man in his book, _The Origin of Consciousness and the
Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. _

"According to Jaynes, consciousness, as we know it today, is a
relatively new faculty, one that did not exist until as recently as
2000 B.C. He holds that a basic difference between contemporary and
ancient man is the process of decision-making. When faced with a
novel situation today, man considers alternatives, thinks about
future consequences, makes a decision, ruminates over it, and
finally acts. He then reconsiders his action, evaluates it, worries
about it, feels good or bad about it, makes resolves about future
decisions, and so forth. The cerebral activity that precedes and
follows an action response is consciousness. Jaynes believes that
man of antiquity had no consciousness -- that when faced with a
novel situation, he simply reacted. He reacted without hesitation
by following the directions of a personal voice that told him
exactly what to do. Ancient man called this voice God; today it is
called an auditory hallucination. To ancient man, God was not a
mental image or a deified thought but an actual voice heard when
one was presented with a situation requiring decisive action."

You must really read Jaynes' book to appreciate the evidence he has
collected in support of his hypothesis. In the present article, J.
Hamilton has found additional support for Jaynes' theory. His abstract
follows:

"When a system for communicating with nonverbal, quadriplegic,
institutionalized residents was developed, it was discovered that
many were experiencing auditory hallucinations. Nine cases are
presented in this study. The 'voices' described have many similar
characteristics, the primary one being that they give authoritarian
commands that tell the residents how to behave and to which the
residents feel compelled to respond. Both the relationship of this
phenomenon to the theoretical work of Julian Jaynes and its effect
on the lives of the residents are discussed."

(Hamilton, John; "Auditory Hallucinations in Nonverbal Quadriplegics,"
_Psychiatry_, 48:382, 1985.)

_From [8]Science Frontiers #43, JAN-FEB 1986. © 1986-2000 William R.
Corliss_
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Other Sites of Interest

* _[9]SIS_. Catastrophism, archaeoastronomy, ancient history,
mythology and astronomy.
* _[10]Lobster_. The journal of intelligence and political
conspiracy (CIA, FBI, JFK, MI5, NSA, etc)
* _[11]Homeworking.com_. Free resource for people thinking about
working at home.
* _[12]ABC Dating and Personals_. For people looking for
relationships. Place your ad free.

References

1. http://www.science-frontiers.com/index.htm
2. http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf043/index.htm
3. http://www.science-frontiers.com/index.htm
4. http://www.science-frontiers.com/sfonline.htm
5. http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf043/index.htm
6. http://www.science-frontiers.com/sourcebk.htm
7. http://www.science-frontiers.com/catalog.htm
8. http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf043/index.htm
9. http://www.knowledge.co.uk/sis/
10. http://www.lobster-magazine.co.uk/
11. http://www.homeworking.com/
12. http://www.abcdating.com/