[MD] Pirsig and Jaynes in Bo's Meta-blender

[Krimel]

[Matt]
I might not so quickly dismiss certain claims about 
"consciousness or self-awareness" beginning, Krimel, 
but they do have to clarified in very precise ways to fit 
with the Darwinian paradigm.  Dennett mentions that 
what we would need is work on the "software" side of 
humanity (as opposed to the biological hardware) to 
solve the "mystery" of consciousness, and I find it 
notable that Walter Ong in Orality and Literacy 
suggests that Jaynes' positing of rapid biological 
change isn't even needed if one simply accounts for 
the shift between an oral culture to the rise of literacy.  
The "bicameral mind" isn't exactly bullshit speculation, 
but rather a metaphor for trying to understand how an 
oral culture would perceive itself (along with 
interpreting evidence we know about these cultures, 
including notions of gods and such).

[Krimel]
I usually refer to Jaynes' idea as interesting and worth considering but I
thought subtlety would be lost in this context. I read his book way back
when. I agree with Dennett assessment on this one. I think Marshall McLuhan
may have also weighed in on the topic when talked about the way text changed
the way people think and see the world. For example, reading requires
practiced and unnatural control of the movement of our eye muscles. This
would point toward the way in which intellectual tools and practices shape
and alter brain structure. Research on meditators suggests much the same
thing. The brain is not a muscle but it acts like one. If you use it a
particular way, you get better at it and change the way it functions.