English
Summary of The Origin of Consciousness
How did human beings who lived five thousand years ago view themselves? How did they make decisions and how did they reflect on their past? Julian Jaynes (1920 – 1997) proposes a radical answer to these questions: until a few thousand ...
Review of The Origin of Consciousness
I always thought that the invention of fire and the wheel were the most important breakthroughs in the history of mankind. After reading The Origin of consciousness in the breakdown of the bicameral mind (Julian Jaynes, 1976) I wonder if ...
Quotes from The Origin of Consciousness
The bicameral mind The gods were in no sense ‘figments of the imagination’ of anyone. They were man’s volition (p 202). The characters of the Iliad do not sit down and think out what to do. They have no conscious minds such as we say we ...
In the cab – short story
‘What do you think of our city?’ my taxi driver asks. Since I have taken many cabs in this town, I have a polite answer prepared: ‘The weather is nice, the food is great and…’ The taxi driver finishes my sentence: ...
Reve’s Faust: review of A circus boy
‘It is beyond doubt that I am evil’. So reads the first sentence of the previously untranslated novel A circus boy (1975) of Dutch writer Gerard Reve (1923-2006). The reader who thinks Reve is kidding, await quite a few shocking ...
Theo van Gogh’s polemic prose
Like any fine caricaturist, Theo Van Gogh the columnist was a penetrating observer. He didn’t bluntly insult people. He captured the fleeting but telling ‘facial expression’ and then magnified it many times. Not everybody ...
Gerard Reve – A circus boy – first chapter
A circus boy Hymn for M. Oh Thou who knowest and understandest all, Things Thy Son has no time for, nor patience, To Thee, dear Mother, I sing this song: Borne of Thee, I return to Thee. May it not be long before I am one with Thee. 1 – ...
Second chapter – A circus boy
Second chapter Wherein the writer exchanges thoughts with his friend Jackal about the fate of mankind and modern means of communication; wherein he makes oral profession of his ecstatic, sensual love for Jackal. When Jackal’s ...
Third chapter – A circus boy
Third chapter Wherein the writer begins the wondrous story of his purchase, from the possession of a foreign Prince, of a young mestizo, who has to serve Jackal as a slave; wherein he furthermore makes mention of his camping experiences. ...
Tim Krabbé’s random word
I once gave myself the assignment of inventing a completely random word. Completely random, is that possible? And all of a sudden, there it was: Battoowoo Greekgreek (Tim Krabbé, The Rider). The word Battoowoo Greekgreek (in Dutch: Batüwü ...