About Julian Jaynes
Julian Jaynes was an American researcher, psychologist, and historian. He was affiliated with Harvard, Yale, and Princeton for nearly 25 years. He is best known for his 1976 book on the origins of consciousness: The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. According to his book, his career was dedicated to the hard problem of consciousness. His theory of the bicameral mind was an inspiration for the HBO television show Westworld.
Source record No.12810MediumPhotographOrientationPartial frontalImage date2011Source notesJulian Jaynes was an American psychologist, best known for his book The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind (1976), in which he argued that ancient peoples were not conscious. Jaynes defines "consciousness" more narrowly than some philosophers. Jaynes' definition of consciousness is synonymous with what philosophers now call "meta-consciousness" or "meta-awareness" i.e. awareness of awareness, thoughts about thinking, desires about desires, beliefs about beliefs. This form of reflection is also distinct from the kinds of "deliberations" seen in other higher animals such as crows insofar as Jaynesian consciousness is dependent on linguistic cognition.
Source record No.1125MediumPhotographMaterialBlack and whiteOrientationFull frontalImage date1997CreatorPrinceton UniversitySource notes"PRINCETON, N.J., November 25 -- Julian Jaynes, 77, of Princeton and Keppoch, Prince Edward Island, Canada, died November 21 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He had suffered a stroke."
MediumPhotographImage date1978CreatorRichard Rhodes [?]Source notesJulian Jaynes at Prince Edward Island home (From Richard Rhodes article in Omni,~1978)
MediumPhotographOrientationPartial sideImage dateUnknownCreatorGeorge DunbarSource notes"Julian Jaynes in his office at Princeton University office (Photo: George Dunbar)"
MediumPhotographOrientationPartial sideImage dateUnknownCreatorGeorge Dunbar
Biographical details
Basic information
person Full name | Julian Jaynes |
cake Date of birth | February 27, 1920 |
event_busy Date of death | November 21, 1997 |
link Links | |
Biographical mentions
Born in West Newton, Massachusetts, Julian Jaynes did his undergraduate work at Harvard and McGill and received both his master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology from Yale. After Yale, Jaynes spent several years in England working as an actor and playwright. Jaynes later returned to the states, and lectured in psychology at Princeton University from 1966 to 1990, teaching a popular class on consciousness for much of that time. In addition, he had numerous positions as Visiting Lecturer or Scholar in Residence in departments of philosophy, English, and archaeology and in numerous medical schools. Julian Jaynes was an associate editor of the internationally renowned journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences and on the editorial board of the Journal of Mind and Behavior. . .
Source: julianjaynes.org on 09/07/2020
Top works
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Julian Jaynes Society | The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind | |
Website | Book | |
1997 | 1976 | |
Contributor | Author | |
More info | More info | |