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Reyun.d the The Bicameral Brain Most important brain functions are bilateral, ie they are performed in Bicam.erall Mind .' .JJt!llUI~@lJ1) .JJ@WlJ1)~lI @!iU£!\!Jiiil@l1n©@lJ1) If?)~w©rro@u@®n~1l ~l1!I.[Q>u~rro@<§J rron~'~@@1k 1ltJiK~ @fllJ@Ufii)~ .@f} ©@im~©I1@WJ~fii)@~: 11@ f}Iii)@ !;Jll@@l1W}{§YiWUU @f/fJIifJ@ &11©(§J!lili1@!l(§JU fNllJfii)@}.~rJil~! n~~~" 'l1Iru~ lW©@!IIMl@l~. ~ fr!ici~ "lii'ruoofr' @@lJ1)1trr@W@fl@D@lU ~~!11k :@a Qlru@ U@fr~;' frW@f~frf@1ll1u ©@IiUUl1!l~Q: Ofr,l'~lru@au@rru©'@[S : ' ...~ @©©@~fr~' ~<91@~~ ©qrro~litiil@rru !ro~fr@U'W II @l1!IUfrl1!I[7@: I1@OO@~@wi~~w©fIy©a@@W @1ii1@ ©nw~on~@frn@rJil If).l@~fr~co ~11@~@[j\jfr @lJ1)©l11®f~.mr@" '"'if@ ~tYi[9)~@~ rro~~ frtruOOllW .!)~~tru~. @11@'W~ @lJ1) @11©rro(§>@P@@JO©(gjO~ @lfjrnrul1@~©u~@n~@u @@@I1@U©®O©@O' @)rJil@ .ODiru®lYlO~frO© ~WO@)@Iii1©@~9@ frIJil@ @!YlU[1@@@ ~@f1 00il@~@ ~@IlikOlJ1)@;;nt1il frrro'@®@ gn@!I@)~" tF@(t rroo~ frl1@l!JIf90@ [fj)@)fi@fSfr rro~fS li»~ImO@rru @l1} I?~OU'n©@fr@ What is consciousness? Normally, apropertyoflanguage, and ifconscious we associate it withlearning, purposeful nessistheinvention ofananalogworld behaviour and the evolution of the based on language, then consciousness higher primates. It happens inside our heads when we are thinking or making decisions. Jaynes dis misses all this and concludes that consciousness is not what we generally think it is. It is nol in volved in learning or performing skills. It is not necessary for mak ing judgements and has no loca tion except an imaginary one. Consciousness is an opera lion, not a function, the invention of an analog world tbat parallels the real world in the same way a map relates to the area it depicts. Consciousness creates this analog world only from objectively of).. servable things and does this by using metaphors to designate or describe things for which words are not available. We 'scc' the solutions and have 'viewpoints'; minds are 'broad', 'open', 'deep' or 'narrow'; we can 'hold' some thing in our mind or have it at the 'back' or 'out' of our minds. These are all metaphors. must have become part of human Similarly, we describe the world in evolution after language. Jaynes' radi metaphorical terms. For Jaynes con cal view is that consciousness is of a sciousness is, in fact, a metaphor-gener much more recent origin than we like to atedmodel oftheworld.Butmetaphoris believe. both the right and left sides of the brain. The exception is language; all our speech areas are on the left side. There are three speech areas in the left hemi sphere and they have different functions and values. Two are concerned chiefly with articulation, and vocabulary and grammar respectively. The third is known as Wernicke's area and is iIi volved with syntax, meaning and under standing speech. But language is probably the most important of the skills that distinguish the human species. It has always been thebasis ofsocialinteraction for human ity, both today and during the post-gla cial millenia of the past. Why is lan guage not represented in both hemi spheres? The physical, 'neurological' structure necessary for language exists in the right side; children with left side lesions (damage) to Wernicke's area transfer the speech mechanism to the right side, thus nolbecoming speech less. What is, or was, the function of the right hemisphere areas that correspond to the speech areas of the left side, is the foun dation of Jaynes' theory. These areas have "seemingly no easily discernible function", known from cases where due to injury or illness, large amounts of tis sue have been removed from the right side with "surprisingly little deficit in mental function". The brain may have two hemi spheres, ie bicameral, but one seems relatively less essential unless the silent 'speech' areas of the right side had some func tion in the past. This function must have been important enough to stop right side development as an auxiliary speech area. In humanity's early history the right side of the brain was used for something even more basic than the ar ticulate speech of language, that pre 34. ···.···.····.i '" '>".' "·NEXlJSNeW:Winpes13lght ... Autttmn..,!989\