Jaynes makes a pretty strong case that the psychology of ancient peoples was distinctively different from our modern psychology, and that these people relied on statues, totems, figurines, and other such artifacts to stimulate the “hallucinated voices” that guided their actions. He further argues that the voice of the local chieftain (or later, the king) was itself hallucinated as a means of social control, and that the chief or king was “the first god.”
“Voices of the gods” http://feedly.com/k/10uNFHJ
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“Thousands of tiny little creatures,” he said, “some on horseback, waving arms, carrying weapons like some grand Renaissance battle,” were trying to turn people “into zombies.” Their leader was a woman “with no mouth but a very precisely cut hole in her throat.”
Mr. Kaplan’s hallucinations lifted as doctors treated his pneumonia. But hospitals say many patients are experiencing such inexplicable disorienting episodes. Doctors call it “hospital delirium,” and are increasingly trying to prevent or treat it.
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— Hallucinations in Hospital Pose Risk to Elderly - NYTimes.com
