The Triune Brain, Hypnosis and the Evolution of Consciousness

The only person who has produced a cogent understanding of the extraordinary phenomenon of hypnosis is Julian Jaynes, one of the most important figures of the twentieth century, but tragically overlooked.

Jaynes linked hypnosis to the bicameral (two-hemisphered) structure of the brain, and inferred that consciousness arose from the breakdown of a prior "master-slave" mode of functioning that he called the "bicameral mind".

The architecture of consciousness is the opposite of the architecture of bicameralism. The former hasn’t replaced the latter. It simply sits on top of it, and in certain circumstances the old architecture can reassert itself. This is what happens with hypnosis.

All of human behavior may be understood in terms of the ongoing conflict between these two architectures. Although most people seem conscious, they are often in a thinly-disguised bicameral mode that reflects the master-slave paradigm.

This book is one of a series by the Pythagorean Illuminati.