18. Disentangling Inner Speech, Self-dialogue, and Auditory Hallucinations: The Mind Is a Machine for Sociopsychological Communication
08/13/24 • 17 min
Disentangling Inner Speech, Self-dialogue, and Auditory Hallucinations: The Mind Is a Machine for Sociopsychological Communication
By Brian J. McVeigh
Read by Michael R. Jacobs (https://www.theungoogleable.com, https://www.youtube.com/@VoidDenizen).
How are inner speech, self-dialogue, auditory imagery, and hallucinations related? And what exactly are hallucinations? Some have suggested that hallucinations are caused by a monitoring defect in inner speech (also termed inner voice, silent speech, subvocal speech, covert speech, self talk, internal monologue, verbal thought, etc.) (Fernyhough, The Voices Within, 2016). Such a claim, however, ignores the overwhelming evidence concerning hallucinations before about 1000 BCE. Any theoretical linkage must take into account one crucial datum: hallucinations were central to normal sociopsychological functioning. Hallucinations, which were ubiquitous in the ancient world, were a mechanism for social control (until about the first millennium BCE). The “monitoring defect” hypothesis confuses matters: Rather than hallucinations resulting from a problem with inner speech, inner speech is a type of watered-down hallucination. This is why, arguably, for some an inner voice possesses agent-like properties or is accompanied by a felt presence, suggesting vestigial bicameral mentality.
Read the complete text from this episode here:
Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at https://www.julianjaynes.org.
Disentangling Inner Speech, Self-dialogue, and Auditory Hallucinations: The Mind Is a Machine for Sociopsychological Communication
By Brian J. McVeigh
Read by Michael R. Jacobs (https://www.theungoogleable.com, https://www.youtube.com/@VoidDenizen).
How are inner speech, self-dialogue, auditory imagery, and hallucinations related? And what exactly are hallucinations? Some have suggested that hallucinations are caused by a monitoring defect in inner speech (also termed inner voice, silent speech, subvocal speech, covert speech, self talk, internal monologue, verbal thought, etc.) (Fernyhough, The Voices Within, 2016). Such a claim, however, ignores the overwhelming evidence concerning hallucinations before about 1000 BCE. Any theoretical linkage must take into account one crucial datum: hallucinations were central to normal sociopsychological functioning. Hallucinations, which were ubiquitous in the ancient world, were a mechanism for social control (until about the first millennium BCE). The “monitoring defect” hypothesis confuses matters: Rather than hallucinations resulting from a problem with inner speech, inner speech is a type of watered-down hallucination. This is why, arguably, for some an inner voice possesses agent-like properties or is accompanied by a felt presence, suggesting vestigial bicameral mentality.
Read the complete text from this episode here:
Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at https://www.julianjaynes.org.
Previous Episode
17. Consciousness, Cognition, and Free Will: A Jaynesian Perspective
Consciousness, Cognition, and Free Will: A Jaynesian Perspective
An Interview by Vinay Kolhatkar with Julian Jaynes Society Founder and Executive Director Marcel Kuijsten.
Marcel Kuijsten discusses the uniquely human consciousness from a Jaynesian perspective with the show's host, Vinay Kolhatkar. Also covered are free will and cognition, the cognitive explosion of Ancient Greece, pre-conceptual ancient cultures prevalent today, the human disposition to obeying authorial voices, and the enormous canvas for future research.
Courtesy of the Savvy Street Show (https://www.thesavvystreet.com/).
Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/tAE5WL5XvDQ
Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at www.julianjaynes.org.
Next Episode
19. The Need to Acknowledge Bicameral Vestiges: Jaynesian Psychology Finds Support not just from the Ancient World
The Need to Acknowledge Bicameral Vestiges: Jaynesian Psychology Finds Support not just from the Ancient World
By Brian J. McVeigh
Read by Michael R. Jacobs (https://www.theungoogleable.com, https://www.youtube.com/@VoidDenizen).
This post is inspired by a recent exchange I had with a commentator who saw little value in relying on biblical accounts as evidence to support Jaynes’s theories because they were “fairytales.” Presumably such a criticism could be extended to other writings that constitute humanity’s extensive religious tradition. It is worth responding to this line of critique because it is not an uncommon reaction from those who find fault with Jaynes (and for what it’s worth, Jaynes did not set out to explain the origins of religion; his research was on the origin of consciousness).
Read the complete text from this episode here:
https://www.julianjaynes.org/2022/04/26/the-need-to-acknowledge-bicameral-vestiges/
Learn more about Julian Jaynes's theory or become a member by visiting the Julian Jaynes Society at https://www.julianjaynes.org.
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