Julian Jaynes
Okay kiddo, let me explain Julian Jaynes in a simple way. Julian Jaynes was a smart grown-up who wrote a book called "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind." It's a big title, but it means he has an idea about how people used to think before they became aware of their own thoughts.
Jaynes thought that a long time ago, people didn't have what we call consciousness, which means knowing that you are aware of yourself and your surroundings. Instead, he believed people had what he called a "bicameral mind" which means their brains were split into two parts, and one part told the other what to do.
It's like having a boss who tells you what to do all the time. The boss would be the one side of your brain, and you would be the other side. You would do whatever your boss told you to do without really thinking about it.
But then something happened, and people started to be aware of their own thoughts. They started to think for themselves and not just listen to their boss. This change is what Jaynes calls the "breakdown" of the bicameral mind, and it happened slowly over time.
So, in short, Julian Jaynes had an idea that people used to have a different way of thinking before they became aware of themselves. It's like having a boss who told you what to do all the time, and then suddenly you started to think for yourself.
Jaynes thought that a long time ago, people didn't have what we call consciousness, which means knowing that you are aware of yourself and your surroundings. Instead, he believed people had what he called a "bicameral mind" which means their brains were split into two parts, and one part told the other what to do.
It's like having a boss who tells you what to do all the time. The boss would be the one side of your brain, and you would be the other side. You would do whatever your boss told you to do without really thinking about it.
But then something happened, and people started to be aware of their own thoughts. They started to think for themselves and not just listen to their boss. This change is what Jaynes calls the "breakdown" of the bicameral mind, and it happened slowly over time.
So, in short, Julian Jaynes had an idea that people used to have a different way of thinking before they became aware of themselves. It's like having a boss who told you what to do all the time, and then suddenly you started to think for yourself.