What If Humans Weren't Always Conscious?

Send us Fan Mail 💬 Were humans always conscious? And why did ancient people seem to constantly report encounters with the gods? One theory by Julian Jaynes - the Bicameral Mind hypothesis -  suggests that, as recently as 3,000 years ago, the normal state for the human mind was very different to today - that for most of human history, consciousness as we know it today did not exist at all. ⚡ In this episode we hear from Brian J. McVeigh, anthropologist, cultural psychologist and psychotherapist - and a student of Julian Jaynes. We discover how the bicameral mind could work in practice, how consciousness may have been invented and evolved by culture, and how language plays a crucial part in this mind-blowing theory! Don't miss an episode - subscribe now: https://podfollow.com/what-we-did-before About the podcast: What We Did Before is a podcast where we chart the history of modern inventions, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI. About your hosts: Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers. Matt Pyle is a lead software developer and tech enthusiast with a keen interest in media, and a love for interesting conversation and learning. Connect with Ollie: Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou Email: [email protected] Image Credits: North African rock painting representing 'a horned goddess', Aouanrhet, Tassili N' Ajjer, Algeria, Round Head period. By Unrecorded artist - smarthistory.org/running-horned-woman-tassili-najjer-algeria/, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=170081077 Human Figures By Patrick Gruban from Munich, Germany - Algerien_5_0047, CC BY-SA 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20097224 Sumerian scene, milking cows and making dairy products. From the facade of the Temple of Ninhursag at Tell al-'Ubaid, Iraq, 2800-2600 BCE. Iraq Museum By Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Cylinder of Nabonidus from the temple of God Sin at UR, Mesopotamia. By Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Cult wall relief from Assur. A deity, probably god Assur, is flanked by 2 water deities and 2 goats. 2000-1500 BCE. Pergamon Museum, Berlin by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Zimbawbe. Matobo Hills, Nswatugi cave. Cave Art. by Fondazione Passaré, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Jardin du Musee Rodin Paris Le Penseur 20050402 by I, Satyakamk, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons Sumerian priest-king from Uruk, Mesopotamia, circa 3300–3000 BC by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Isis, a mother goddess and a patroness of kingship, holds Pharaoh Seti I in her lap. by Olaf Tausch, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Epoca tolemaica, stele con bes e tutu, 332-30 ac ca by Sailko, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Thiksey Monastery, Buddhist murals, Ladakh, North India by Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Reform text of Urukagina, king of Lagash. Terracotta clay tablet. From Girsu, Iraq. 24th century BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul, Turkey by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons A possible imaginative depiction of Hesiod (Roman copy of a Greek original) By Yair Haklai - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93437400 The Seated Scribe by Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0 FR https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/fr/deed.en, via Wikimedia Commons ЗС Сарат.jpg by Vasilev Ilya, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Tablet XI (or the Flood Tablet) of the Epic of Gilgamesh. British Museum. by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Schizophrenia fMRI working memory by Kim J, Matthews NL, Park S., CC BY 2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schizophrenia_fMRI_working_memory.jpg Human evolution scheme.svg by M. Garde, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons The Silent Voice, 1898, by Gerald Moira, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Cefalù Pantocrator retouched by Andreas Wahra, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons Support the show