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According to Jaynes, ancient people in the bicameral state of mind would have experienced the

world in a manner that has some similarities to that of a schizophrenic. Rather than making

conscious evaluations in novel or unexpected situations, the person would hallucinate a voice or

"god" giving admonitory advice or commands and obey without question: one would not be at all

conscious of one's own thought processes per se. Research into "command hallucinations" that

often direct the behavior of those labeled schizophrenic, as well as other voice hearers, supports

Jaynes's predictions.[1]

Jaynes built a case for this hypothesis that human brains existed in a bicameral state until as recently

as 3000 years ago by citing evidence from many diverse sources including historical literature. He

took an interdisciplinary approach, drawing data from many different fields.[2] Jaynes asserted that,

until roughly the times written about in Homer's Iliad, humans did not generally have the self-

awareness characteristic of consciousness as most people experience it today. Rather, the bicameral

individual was guided by mental commands believed to be issued by external "gods"—

 commands

which were recorded in ancient myths, legends and historical accounts. This is exemplified not only

in the commands given to characters in ancient epics but also the very muses of Greek mythology

which "sang" the poems: the ancients literally heard muses as the direct source of their music and

poetry.

For example, in the Iliad and sections of the Old Testament no mention is made of any kind of

cognitive processes such as introspection, and there is no apparent indication that the writers were

self-aware. According to Jaynes, the older portions of the Old Testament (such as the Book of Amos)have few or none of the features of some later books of the Old Testament (such as Ecclesiastes) as

well as later works such as Homer's Odyssey, which show indications of a profoundly different kind

of mentality— an early form of consciousness.[2]

In ancient times, Jaynes noted, gods were generally much more numerous and much more

anthropomorphic than in modern times, and speculates that this was because each bicameral

person had their own "god" who reflected their own desires and experiences.[3] He also noted that

in ancient societies the corpses of the dead were often treated as though still alive (being seated,

dressed and even fed) as a form of ancestor worship, and Jaynes argued that the dead bodies were

presumed to be still living and the source of auditory hallucinations.[2] This adaptation to the village

communities of 100 individuals or more formed the core of religion. Unlike today's hallucinations,

the voices of ancient times were structured by cultural norms to produce a seamlessly functioning

society. In Ancient Greek culture there is often mention of the Logos, which is a very similar concept.

It was a type of guiding voice that was heard as from a seemingly external source.

Jaynes inferred that these "voices" came from the right brain counterparts of the left brain language

centres—

specifically, the counterparts to Wernicke's area and Broca's area. These regions are

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somewhat dormant in the right brains of most modern humans, but Jaynes noted that some studies

show that auditory hallucinations correspond to increased activity in these areas of the brain.[2]

Jaynes notes that even in modern times[when?] there is no consensus as to the cause or origins ofschizophrenia. Jaynes argues that schizophrenia is a vestige of humanity's earlier bicameral state.[2]

Recent evidence shows that many schizophrenics do not just hear random voices but experience "

command hallucinations" instructing their behavior or urging them to commit certain acts.[full

citation needed] As support for Jaynes's argument, these command hallucinations are little different

from the commands from gods which feature prominently in ancient stories.[2] Indirect evidence

supporting Jaynes's theory that hallucinations once played an important role in human mentality can

be found in the recent book Muses, Madmen, and Prophets: Rethinking the History, Science, and

Meaning of Auditory Hallucination by Daniel Smith.[4][improper synthesis?]