The God-Shaped Hole in Your Mind: Julian Jaynes’s Groundbreaking Ideas on Consciousness and the Bicameral Mind Explained in Just 16 Minutes

What if human consciousness, as we know it, is a recent invention? In this fast-paced 16-minute presentation, we explore the revolutionary theory of psychologist Julian Jaynes — a mind-bending journey into the origins of thought, the voices of ancient gods, and the breakdown of the “bicameral mind.” Whether you’re new to Jaynes’s work or revisiting his ideas with fresh eyes, you’ll leave with a new perspective on what it means to be conscious — and why that might not be as timeless as we think.

Produced by Marcel Kuijsten.

Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.julianjaynes.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Read our latest book, "Conversations on Consciousness and the Bicameral Mind":

https://www.julianjaynes.org/book/conversations-on-consciousness-and-the-bicameral-mind/

Bicameral Mentality in Ancient Mesopotamia: A Deep Dive Discussion

A deep dive discussion delving into the evidence for bicameral mentality in ancient Mesopotamia, building on Julian Jaynes's chapter "A Change of Mind in Mesopotamia" by drawing upon a wide range of scholarly sources.

Produced by Marcel Kuijsten. Introduction read by Michael R. Jacobs (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theungoogleable.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@VoidDenizen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

Read the transcript: https://www.julianjaynes.org/2025/07/30/bicameral-mentality-in-ancient-mesopotamia/

Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.julianjaynes.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. 

Conversations on Consciousness and the Bicameral Mind: A Deep Dive Book Discussion

A deep dive discussion delving into the book "Conversations on Consciousness and the Bicameral Mind: Interviews with Leading Thinkers on Julian Jaynes's Theory."

This book is highly recommended for those new to Julian Jaynes and long time Jaynes enthusiasts alike:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1737305534/

Introduction read by Michael R. Jacobs (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theungoogleable.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@VoidDenizen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.julianjaynes.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. 

Contents:

00:00 - Introduction

03:12 - Resistance to New Ideas

03:52 - Defining Consciousness

09:40 - Consciousness and Language Part 1

13:38 - When Consciousness Developed

16:39 - Comparing the Iliad and the Odyssey

18:30 - The Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind

19:35 - Vestiges of Bicameral Mentality

19:59 - Hearing Voices

24:02 - The Feeling of a Sensed Presence

25:18 - Hypnosis

27:58 - Creative Inspiration

28:40 - The Evolution of Religion

30:28 - Spirit Possession

30:54 - Cave Art

31:25 - Seeking External Authorization

32:18 - Consciousness and Language Part 2

35:55 - Jaynes's Neurological Model

41:17 - Implications of the Theory

45:20 - The Future of Consciousness

47:00 - Concluding Remarks

Consciousness and Bicameral Mentality: A Deep Dive Discussion Exploring Nearly Every Aspect of Julian Jaynes's Theory

A fascinating, deep dive discussion that provides an in-depth exploration of nearly every aspect of Julian Jaynes's theory of the origin of consciousness and an earlier mentality he called the bicameral mind.

Highly recommended for those new to Julian Jaynes and long time Jaynes enthusiasts alike!

Read the transcript: https://www.julianjaynes.org/2025/06/08/consciousness-and-bicameral-mentality/

Produced by Camille Tillier and Marcel Kuijsten. Introduction read by Michael R. Jacobs (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theungoogleable.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@VoidDenizen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.julianjaynes.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. 

Contents:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:02:51 - Jaynes's Core Claims

00:03:22 - The Origin of Consciousness

00:10:40 - Bicameral Mentality

00:17:52 - Wide-Ranging Implications

00:27:42 - Literary Evidence: Ancient Greece

00:32:50 - Literary Evidence: Mesopotamia

00:38:55 - Literary Evidence: Ancient Egypt

00:41:00 - Archeological Evidence

00:45:02 - Neurological Evidence

00:48:00 - What It Was Like to Be Bicameral

00:52:03 - Absence of Deception and Morality

00:57:21 - The Causes of Consciousness

01:03:06 - Bicameral Vestiges: Omens

01:06:18 - Bicameral Vestiges: Angels and Genii

01:07:43 - Bicameral Vestiges: Oracles and Divination

01:10:37 - Bicameral Vestiges: Tourette Syndrome and Glossolalia

01:11:24 - Bicameral Vestiges: Poetry and Music

01:14:42 - Bicameral Vestiges: Hypnosis

01:17:46 - Bicameral Vestiges: Schizophrenia

01:20:54 - Bicameral Vestiges: Imaginary Companions

01:21:57 - Bicameral Vestiges: Totalitarian States

01:23:12 - New Evidence for Jaynes's Theory

01:30:23 - Profound Implications: Consciousness

01:32:16 - Profound Implications: Religion

01:33:12 - Profound Implications: The Nature of Reality

01:33:55 - Profound Implications: The Human Condition

01:35:25 - Concluding Remarks and the Future of Consciousness

Consciousness and Dreams

By Marcel Kuijsten“In The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, Julian Jaynes discusses a variety of forms of evidence for the transition from a bicameral mentality to consciousness. The study of dreams provides another window through which to examine this transition. By extension, historical changes in the nature of dreams support the idea that consciousness is in a learned process based on language and not biologically innate. There is a common assumption that the nature of dreams has been consistent throughout recorded history, yet this is not the case. If we analyze the first recorded accounts of dreams and compare these accounts with modern dreams, we see a stark contrast. …”

This essay originally appeared in The Jaynesian, Marcel Kuijsten & Brian J. McVeigh (eds.), Winter 2010, Volume 4, Issue 1.

Produced by Marcel Kuijsten. Read by Michael R. Jacobs (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theungoogleable.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@VoidDenizen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.julianjaynes.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. 

An interview with Julian Jaynes Society Founder and Executive Director Marcel Kuijsten and Julian Jaynes Society Senior Researcher and author Brian J. McVeigh on Julian Jaynes's theory of the origin of consciousness and the bicameral mind.

Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.julianjaynes.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Read Marcel Kuijsten's books on Julian Jaynes's theory:

"Conversations on Consciousness and the Bicameral Mind: Interviews with Leading Thinkers on Julian Jaynes's Theory"

"Gods, Voices, and the Bicameral Mind: The Theories of Julian Jaynes"

"The Julian Jaynes Collection"

"Reflections on the Dawn of Consciousness: Julian Jaynes's Bicameral Mind Theory Revisited"

Falling between the Cracks: Julian Jaynes’s Defiance of Scholarly Conventions Challenged Cherished Methodological Assumptions — This Is What Makes Him Hard to Appreciate

By Brian J. McVeigh

Produced by Marcel Kuijsten. Read by Michael R. Jacobs (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theungoogleable.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@VoidDenizen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

Academics make progress when they are inspired by the cross-pollination of ideas, and most researchers, arguably, utilize a multi-disciplinary approach to some degree, i.e., no piece of research fits perfectly into one scholarly field. Much of the academic landscape can be described as combinatory endeavors — social psychology, psychological anthropology, psychology of religion, neuropsychology, neurotheology, etc., to name just a few. Cross-fertilization is a wonderful and much-needed antidote to specialization, subspecialization, sub-subspecialization, etc. ...

Read the complete text from this episode:

https://www.julianjaynes.org/2022/12/05/falling-between-the-cracks-jayness-defiance-of-scholarly-conventions/

Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.julianjaynes.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

The Myth of “Pure Consciousness” - The Belief in a Fundamental Psychic Process Hinders Progress in Psychology

By Brian J. McVeigh

Produced by Marcel Kuijsten. Read by Michael R. Jacobs (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theungoogleable.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@VoidDenizen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

“If understanding a thing is arriving at a familiarizing metaphor for it, then we can see that there always will be a difficulty in understanding consciousness. For it should be immediately apparent that there is not and cannot be anything in our immediate experience that is like immediate experience itself. There is therefore a sense in which we shall never be able to understand consciousness in the same way that we can understand things that we are conscious of”  (Julian Jaynes, 1976, p. 53).

I have often wondered why so many well-credentialed researchers continue to bark up the wrong tree in their quest to understand consciousness. Many reasons could be offered, but in a recent discussion on the “Julian Jaynes — The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind” Facebook page someone brought up Jaynes’s aforementioned quote. ...

Read the complete text from this episode:

https://www.julianjaynes.org/2022/10/18/the-myth-of-pure-consciousness/

Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.julianjaynes.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

A Resurgence of Julian Jaynes’ Theory of Consciousness

By Peter Sellick

Produced by Marcel Kuijsten. Read by Michael R. Jacobs (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theungoogleable.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@VoidDenizen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

Adam Mars-Jones begins his review of Alvaro Enrigue’s “You Dreamed of Empires” (London Review of Books, Volume 46, Number 10) with the following:

“Culture shock​ seems too mild a phrase to describe the arrival of Europeans in South and Central America. In his 1976 maverick classic, The Origin of consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind (its category speculative neurohistory, at a guess), Julian Jaynes proposes that, at the time Pizarro and his men reached them, the Inca didn’t have full mental autonomy but only ‘protosubjectivity’. They functioned largely by a sort of automatism, acting according to unchanging patterns and ritual clues, able to absorb only slight disruptions to their routines, so that this was less a clash of civilisations than of mental structures.”

This sent me scrambling for my old copy of Jaynes’ monumental book that I read in the late 80s.

Read the complete text from this episode:

https://www.julianjaynes.org/2024/08/16/a-resurgence-of-julian-jaynes-theory-of-consciousness/

Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.julianjaynes.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Julian Jaynes Is Not for the Intellectually Fainthearted — But Breaking Jaynesian Psychology Down into Four Hypotheses Makes Things Easier

By Brian J. McVeigh

Produced by Marcel Kuijsten. Read by Michael R. Jacobs (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theungoogleable.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@VoidDenizen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

I first encountered Julian Jaynes’s The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind almost 45 years ago. Though the book made sense to me, I could see why people would reject its arguments. Nevertheless I assumed that once carefully explained, people may not agree but would at least be able to discern a certain logic behind Jaynesian psychology. How naïve I was.

Read the complete text from this episode:

https://www.julianjaynes.org/2022/06/07/julian-jaynes-is-not-for-the-intellectually-fainthearted/

Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.julianjaynes.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.