The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World
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- Author：Iain McGilchrist
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Summary
A pioneering exploration of the differences between the brain’s right and left hemispheres and their effects on society， history， and culture
“Persuasively argues that our society is suffering from the consequences of an over-dominant left hemisphere losing touch with its natural regulative ‘master’ the right。 Brilliant and disturbing。”—Salley Vickers， a Guardian Best Book of the Year
This pioneering account sets out to understand the structure of the human brain—the place where mind meets matter。 Until recently， the left hemisphere of our brain has been seen as the ‘rational’ side， the superior partner to the right。 But is this distinction true？
Drawing on a vast body of experimental research， Iain McGilchrist argues while our left brain makes for a wonderful servant， it is a very poor master。 As he shows， it is the right side which is the more reliable and insightful。 Without it， our world would be mechanistic – stripped of depth， colour and value。
"One of the few contemporary works deserving classic status。”—Nicholas Shakespeare， The Times
“A profound examination。”—Philip Pullman
“Clear， penetrating， lively， thorough and fascinating。 。 。 。 I couldn’t put it down。”—Mary Midgley， The Guardian
“Persuasively argues that our society is suffering from the consequences of an over-dominant left hemisphere losing touch with its natural regulative ‘master’ the right。 Brilliant and disturbing。”—Salley Vickers， a Guardian Best Book of the Year
This pioneering account sets out to understand the structure of the human brain—the place where mind meets matter。 Until recently， the left hemisphere of our brain has been seen as the ‘rational’ side， the superior partner to the right。 But is this distinction true？
Drawing on a vast body of experimental research， Iain McGilchrist argues while our left brain makes for a wonderful servant， it is a very poor master。 As he shows， it is the right side which is the more reliable and insightful。 Without it， our world would be mechanistic – stripped of depth， colour and value。
"One of the few contemporary works deserving classic status。”—Nicholas Shakespeare， The Times
“A profound examination。”—Philip Pullman
“Clear， penetrating， lively， thorough and fascinating。 。 。 。 I couldn’t put it down。”—Mary Midgley， The Guardian
Reviews
Cav
，
Despite being excited to start this one， The Master and His Emissary fell flat for me。。。Author Iain McGilchrist is a psychiatrist， writer， and former Oxford literary scholar。 McGilchrist is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists， and has three times been elected a Fellow of All Souls College， Oxford。 McGilchrist came to prominence after the publication of this book。 Iain McGilchrist: My review here is for the new expanded edition; circa 2019。 This new edition had a very long pr Despite being excited to start this one， The Master and His Emissary fell flat for me。。。Author Iain McGilchrist is a psychiatrist， writer， and former Oxford literary scholar。 McGilchrist is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists， and has three times been elected a Fellow of All Souls College， Oxford。 McGilchrist came to prominence after the publication of this book。 Iain McGilchrist: My review here is for the new expanded edition; circa 2019。 This new edition had a very long preface; a harbinger of the writing that was to follow。 McGilchrist mentions the hypothesis he forwards here is open to scrutiny， and writes about scientific flexibility and growth through peer review。McGilchrist writes that this is a cross-disciplinary field of inquiry; delving into "psychology， philosophy， literature and the arts， and even， to some extent， archaeology and anthropology。"Interestingly， McGilchrist writes about the common missconceptions related to the left-right brain paradigm: "One of my favourites is this list， a slide I sometimes use in lectures with the health warning in the title: ‘Right and…WRONG！’Although there is nothing unusual here， and it is actually one of the more nuanced such summaries on the web， the nuances don’t help – because they are wrong。 There is only one pairing here that is broadly correct。 All the others are false， sometimes so badly that they represent the inverse of what is known to be the case。。。" Unfortunately， despite fielding subject matter that is extremely interesting， I found most of the author's writing here to be extremely long-winded， arduous， technical， and dry。 McGilchrist takes a deep dive right from the get-go into neuroanatomy and neuroscience here， without ever taking a breath to provide the reader with any relevant foundational knowledge or context required for them to fully absorb this technical material。He is likely to lose many people in the weeds with prose like this。。。 Sadly， this is somewhat typical of many science books written by scientists。 Too bad; as their message will not be accessible to many （or indeed - most） readers。For the sake of clarity， my own future reference， and for anyone else interested， I have included a synopsis of the book below; taken from its Wikipedia page: Part One: The Divided BrainIn "The Divided Brain"， McGilchrist digests study after study， replacing the popular and superficial notion of the hemispheres as respectively logical and creative in nature with the idea that they pay attention in fundamentally different ways， the left being detail-oriented， the right being whole-oriented。 These two modes of perception cascade into wildly different hemispheric personalities， and in fact reflect yet a further asymmetry in their status， that of the right's more immediate relationship with physical bodies （our own as well as others） and external reality as represented by the senses， a relationship that makes it the mediator， the first and last stop， of all experience。Part Two: How the Brain Has Shaped Our WorldIn the second part， "How the Brain Has Shaped Our World"， the author describes the evolution of Western culture， as influenced by hemispheric brain functioning， from the ancient world， through the Renaissance and Reformation; the Enlightenment; Romanticism and Industrial Revolution; to the modern and postmodern worlds which， to our detriment， are becoming increasingly dominated by the left brain。I also really disliked the formatting of this book。 McGilchrist fires off countless different characteristics， patterns， and cognitive tasks， and then places them in either a right brain or left brain category。 There is a glaring lack of an overarching theme that can be readily absorbed by the reader here。 I found the book seriously lacking in both direction and cohesion。 A great example of ineffective communication; the book also should have been much more rigorously edited for the sake of both brevity and clarity。 In my opinion; roughly ~75% of this writing could have been cut without any noticeable loss of communication。 Indeed， it probably should have been。。。 I really dislike when science books are formatted and/or written this way， and I always penalize them harshly for it。 When a science book is presented in an overly verbose， technical， and dry manner such as this， it does a great disservice to the field of science communication， IMO。 Quite possibly appealing primarily to other scientists and various assorted scientifically literate autodidacts， this book will likely render many readers completely lost。。。 In the worst-case scenario， the reader will become frustrated with his or her journey into scientific reading， and could be dissuaded from reading further scientific books。 A definite failure of communication。 Absolutely terrible。。。The icing on the cake for me here; quite a large chunk of the book is devoted to extremely long-winded rambling philosophical navel-gazing and other assorted tedious contemplations。 McGilchrist endlessly ponders the nature of knowledge， reality， the conscious experience， and other related philosophy that nearly put me to sleep。。。So， while McGilchrist is most likely a thorough and competent professional in his fields of scientific inquiry， he failed to present this work to the reader in a manner that they will find accessible， or even understandable。Combine this with the ridiculous length of this book （the PDF copy I have is 1，099 pages， the audiobook version ~28hours）， and I would opine that The Master and His Emissary makes for an interesting case study of how not to write science。。。Remind me to take a pass on any other books from this author。1。5 stars。 。。。more
Nicolas
，
I had to abandon this。 The essay with the same title was great。 Ian McGilchrist's interviews are mind-bending。 But this is SO thick， and so self-referential， that it's just very hard for me to read， perhaps because I do most of my reading when I'm already tired。 It's Actually fascinating。。。 but for me， not captivating！ I had to abandon this。 The essay with the same title was great。 Ian McGilchrist's interviews are mind-bending。 But this is SO thick， and so self-referential， that it's just very hard for me to read， perhaps because I do most of my reading when I'm already tired。 It's Actually fascinating。。。 but for me， not captivating！ 。。。more
Sourabh Bansal
，
I learnt something from this book。 Its like an exercise regime- nobody loves it too much， but its good for you。 The prose is very dense for my reading
Thomas Devlin
，
This is a very interesting book that explores in depth the differences between the two hemispheres of the brain， and links this to the intellectual evolution of the West。 However， it is incredibly dense and at times his attempt to link the divided brain to historical and cultural developments felt tenuous。
Evan Micheals
，
Jordan Peterson spoke of this book by Iain McGilchrist numerous times in his lectures and podcasts。 It is an intimidating 772 pages long and investigates the left and right hemispheres of the brain。 The premise is that the brain is better understood as being more two halves， than one whole。 It continues my attempt to teach myself neurology， or at least gain a better understanding of psycho-neurological concepts。The book itself is spilt into two parts。 The first half of the book is more science a Jordan Peterson spoke of this book by Iain McGilchrist numerous times in his lectures and podcasts。 It is an intimidating 772 pages long and investigates the left and right hemispheres of the brain。 The premise is that the brain is better understood as being more two halves， than one whole。 It continues my attempt to teach myself neurology， or at least gain a better understanding of psycho-neurological concepts。The book itself is spilt into two parts。 The first half of the book is more science and neurological focused explaining what the differ parts of the brain do， and how they differ in the left and right hemispheres。 The second half of the book reminded me of Camille Paglia’s Sex， Art， and American Culture， looking at the hemispheres of the brain from a philosophy/art history perspective。 It is not an easy read and I was either at my limit in my ability to comprehend or it was beyond me。The thesis is that since the Greeks western society is dominated by left hemisphere thinking and McGilchrist shows this increasing through time in both science and art。 He makes his points well and concludes with his image of what a society tyrannised by left hemisphere thinking might be like， and his points are well made。 He showed the differences in western and eastern ways of thinking。 The Romantics， who he implies represent the eastern mode of thought， can go to far。 What was lacking was a description of his conception of society if the right hemisphere of our brain ruled。 That would have been more balanced， but maybe because McGilchrist is a product of the west could not write。I looked at myself and my own thinking。 My left hemisphere is best represented by Stoic thought and philosophy， which I find profoundly useful。 My right hemisphere is best represented by Jungian mysticism。 I struggle with this but know it is also useful。 I acknowledge I am strongly and maybe over reliant on the influenced by the left side of my brain。 Most of my ‘effort’ is to learn Jungian thought， as much as one can do so。 There is a debate in the intellectual circles I inhabit asking whether Jordan Peterson can be considered a Stoic， with the leaders such as Donald Robertson denying this。 I would agree that there are some aspect of Peterson’s philosophy that are Stoic， but I believe he is equally influenced by Jung。 As a therapist I have this aspiration for myself。McGilchrist observed （p 85） that Chimpanzee’s and Gorilla’s like humans predominantly hold babies to their left shoulder explaining this allows the right side off the brain to better observe the child。 I cannot recall a photo of me holding one of our baby children on my right shoulder， freaky in the way it passed the personal reality test。。Two quotes: 1/ Quoting Goethe “Vermunft [reason] is concerned with what is becoming， Verstand [rationality] with what has become… [Reason rejoices in whatever evolves; [rationality] wants to hold everything still， so it can utilise it” （p 459）。 2/ “The right hemisphere， the one that believes， but does not know， has to depend on the other， the left hemisphere， that knows but doesn’t believe。 It is a power that has an infinite and therefore intrinsically uncertain， potential” （p 545）。 This speaks to the duality in epistemology。 In this case left/right。 I see a duality of knowledge in so many aspect of life （yin/yang; science/art; masculine/feminine; quantitative/qualitative; physical/spiritual; mind/body; knowledge/faith; free will/determisism brains/brawn; Karl Popper/Thomas Kuhn etc）。 Wisdom requires straddling both aspects of knowing。 To borrow from both Jesus and the Buddha: The Middle Path。 It is difficult to stay balanced， and we get it wrong a lot of the time。 Life seems a constant effort of balancing and re-balancing， as each form of knowing seems to contradict the other。McGilchrist quotes Geoffrey Miller “a person’s age sex， race， income， geographic location， nationality， and education level have only trivial correlations with happiness， typically explaining less than 2% of the variance。 An important exception is that hungry， diseased， oppressed people in developing nations tend to be slightly less happy – once they reach a certain minimum standard of calorie intake and physical security， further increases in material affluence do not increase their happiness very much” （p 554）。 This reiterates Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs。 If you can take care of the basic’s as a society， then it is incumbent on individual to move themselves towards self actualisation。 Once we provide the basic’s described above， the State should have little role given its small effect on outcomes of happiness， it seems absurd we are spending so much cultural and literal capital playing identity politics。 It does not seem to be leading to a more harmonious society。“The current tendency for flesh to remain opaque， in the explicitness of pornography， for example， bids to rob sex of much of its power， and it is interesting that pornography in the modern sense began in the Enlightenment， part of its unhappy pursuit of happiness， and its too ready equation of happiness with pleasure” （p 559）。 I am worried for young men being drawn into a life of Pornography and Playstation。 I believe sectors of our society are demonising young men as a group， and that all men are tarnished by the rape brush。 Attempts to become intimate all to easily become evidence of a dark aspect of the nature of men。 We lack charity for the clumsy， inarticulate men finding how to be in the world。 I can understand why these young men give up on trying to be their best selves and fall into the nihilism of a good internet connection as an easy source of pleasure。 Attacking men as a group is bad for women。 One day this pool of men are their prospective partners。 A hedonistic， nihilistic man is not a good man。 We need to be encouraging men to be the best versions of themselves， and the capacity to forgive them when they get it wrong。McGilchrist states “there has been， as expected， a parallel movement towards the possible rehabilitation of religious practices as utility。 Thus 15 minutes Zen medication a day may make you a more effective money broker， or improve your blood pressure， or lower cholesterol” （p 562）。 We can see this in the current mindfulness movement， taking Buddhist Zen philosophy and stripping it down to what is commercially useful。 I like to walk and read for the joy of exercising and learning at the same time。 Colleagues have observed the benefits that McGilchrist mentions for me。 The benefits are not why I do it。 Exercising and learning are two of my favourite things。 The learning I have done has not provided a lot of utility to my career。 It career advancement was what I was aiming for， I would sharpen my office politics skills and become more Machiavellian in this regard。McGilchrist paraphrases Nietzsche and Heraclitus “simply calls war – there is hope， since the worse it gets， the better it gets。 He quotes as having long been his motto， Increscunt animi， virescit volnere virtus: ‘The spirit grows， [and] strength is restored， by wounding’” （p 573）。 This reminded me of Nassim Talib concepts of Anti-Fragile。 This reminds me that Talib did not ‘discover’ the quality of being Anti-Fragile， he just gave it its modern name （and it is a useful concept to think about）。“According to Max Planck， ‘Anybody who has been seriously engaged in scientific work of any kind realizes that over the entrance to the gates of the temple of science are written the words: Ye must have faith。 It is a quality which the scientist cannot dispense with。 - Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature。 And that is because we ourselves are part of the nature and therefore part of the mystery that we are trying to solve ‘” （p 588）。 I constantly struggle with the faith dilemma。 I want to know about ‘life， the universe， and everything’。 In the end I cannot know， so I am left with making choices in regards to what do I have faith in which guides my life， as I cannot have perfect knowledge。 In the end a lot of life is a subjective judgement call。 Somewhere is a balance between knowing and not knowing。 It seems to me that the best form of wisdom is faith informed by knowledge。 I am somewhere in between both Thomas Kuhn （that we can know） and Karl Popper （that we cannot know）。 Life is a lot more ambiguous than many care to admit， but I also deny that it is completely ambiguous。 To borrow from Johnny Cash， ‘I walk the line’。 。。。more
Daniel Frank
，
The Master and His Emissary is poorly written， hopelessly confused and materially wrong。 In fact， it may be one of the most "wrong" books I've ever read。 Despite that， The Master and His Emissary is fascinating and thought provoking。 I feel better off for having thought about the issues raised in the book and am inspired to continue exploring the subject。 The Master and His Emissary is poorly written， hopelessly confused and materially wrong。 In fact， it may be one of the most "wrong" books I've ever read。 Despite that， The Master and His Emissary is fascinating and thought provoking。 I feel better off for having thought about the issues raised in the book and am inspired to continue exploring the subject。 。。。more
Marco
，
Loved it！ Right brain vs。 left brain brawl！ Very informative。
Jeff Brandtjen
，
One of the most mind expanding books I've read。 First of all， this was a challenging read。 Felt like an accomplishment when finished。 McGilchrist offers a profound look inside the human mind， focusing on the fascinating distinctions between hemispheres in the first half， and his perspective （coherent， imo） on the societal/geopolitical implications of his findings in the second。This book dramatically changed the way I understand how the brain works。 One of the most mind expanding books I've read。 First of all， this was a challenging read。 Felt like an accomplishment when finished。 McGilchrist offers a profound look inside the human mind， focusing on the fascinating distinctions between hemispheres in the first half， and his perspective （coherent， imo） on the societal/geopolitical implications of his findings in the second。This book dramatically changed the way I understand how the brain works。 。。。more
Amy
，
The first review I've written because I'm astounded by the ideas in this book and will be reeling from it for a long time。 McGilchrist argues that in addition to controlling different functions， the brain's two hemispheres also generate two incompatible versions of the world with very different priorities and values。 Over the centuries， the left brain hemisphere has slowly become dominant over the right hemisphere （its natural 'master'）， with disturbing consequences that have played out in the a The first review I've written because I'm astounded by the ideas in this book and will be reeling from it for a long time。 McGilchrist argues that in addition to controlling different functions， the brain's two hemispheres also generate two incompatible versions of the world with very different priorities and values。 Over the centuries， the left brain hemisphere has slowly become dominant over the right hemisphere （its natural 'master'）， with disturbing consequences that have played out in the arts， literature， music， philosophy， and most obviously in today's capitalistic， consumerist society。On a broader level， this is a book about what humanity has sacrificed in the name of progress， and why we now find ourselves amid a crisis of mental， spiritual， and environmental health。 An incredibly well-researched work over 20 years in the making， and written from the heart。 It's radically changed the way I understand myself and the world。 。。。more
Vinicius
，
Dense and hard， but completely worth the journey。 Learned a lot。
Flaviu
，
Oh boy， how do I even start。 Straight off the bat it should be noted that this one will not be an easy read， nor should it be。 It talks about the very nature of what it means to be human。 The sane kind， the insane kind and everything in between。 No details are spared and no stone is left unturned。 Science meets philosophy and both of them flank culture and society to an uncomfortable degree。 The topic it tackles is how the known， yet highly misunderstood， physical differences between the hemisph Oh boy， how do I even start。 Straight off the bat it should be noted that this one will not be an easy read， nor should it be。 It talks about the very nature of what it means to be human。 The sane kind， the insane kind and everything in between。 No details are spared and no stone is left unturned。 Science meets philosophy and both of them flank culture and society to an uncomfortable degree。 The topic it tackles is how the known， yet highly misunderstood， physical differences between the hemispheres of the brain have lead society down a path with a potentially frightening future。 I'm not going to get into details since it would be futile to do so。 Whether you agree with the how'ness of it or not， at least for me it was hard to disagree with the where'ness it will take us。 I'm sad to say even if the science won't pass mustard in a few decades and some things are not exactly as they're believed to be in this book， the clues are unfortunately very much there about what the future of humanity stands to look like in the future， barring some deep changes。The book opened cans of worms for me both on an intellectual level and on a more emotional level。 It resonated perfectly in tune with thoughts I was already rummaging inside and I'm afraid I'll be spending quite some time trying to either eat those canned worms or stuff them back inside。 I might not agree on all fronts with Mr。 McGilchrist， but he's got me convinced of his theory none-the-less。 。。。more
Steve
，
"‘The divided nature of our reality has been a consistent observation since humanity has been sufficiently self-conscious to reflect on it。 [… He names a few key examples …] What all these point to is the fundamentally divided nature of mental experience。 When one puts that together with the fact that the brain is divided into two relatively independent chunks which just happen to mirror the very dichotomies that are being pointed to — alienation versus engagement， abstraction versus incarnation "‘The divided nature of our reality has been a consistent observation since humanity has been sufficiently self-conscious to reflect on it。 [… He names a few key examples …] What all these point to is the fundamentally divided nature of mental experience。 When one puts that together with the fact that the brain is divided into two relatively independent chunks which just happen to mirror the very dichotomies that are being pointed to — alienation versus engagement， abstraction versus incarnation， the categorical versus the unique， the general versus the particular， the part versus the whole， and so on — it seems like a metaphor that might have some literal truth。 But if it turns out to be ‘just’ a metaphor， I will be content。 I have a high regard for metaphor。 It is how we come to understand the world。’" 。。。more
Jay Salvaterra
，
Really interesting book and I liked how the different functions/roles of the brain were applied to broader human interactions。
Claire
，
I may come back to this later。 I found his arguments interesting。 I wish I had a print copy of the work to follow。
Kefnet
，
DNF
Brian
，
Dense and sweeping look at the battle of the two hemispheres in our brain and its impact on world history。 Interesting throughout， and I am still thinking about many of the author's conclusions。 Dense and sweeping look at the battle of the two hemispheres in our brain and its impact on world history。 Interesting throughout， and I am still thinking about many of the author's conclusions。 。。。more
Luke Mungall
，
Absolutely phenomenal book。 Every chapter， every paragraph has knockout revelations。 Reading this has changed my entire philosophical outlook， and I hope to keep this book in my epistemic backpocket for the rest of my life （truly）。 The beauty of this book is that its content is both explicit and implicit， filled with both scientific and artistic evidence。 Anyone who is interested in science， but also inclined towards the humanities would find great interest in this book。 McGilchrist is so well r Absolutely phenomenal book。 Every chapter， every paragraph has knockout revelations。 Reading this has changed my entire philosophical outlook， and I hope to keep this book in my epistemic backpocket for the rest of my life （truly）。 The beauty of this book is that its content is both explicit and implicit， filled with both scientific and artistic evidence。 Anyone who is interested in science， but also inclined towards the humanities would find great interest in this book。 McGilchrist is so well read it is dumbfounding。 It did not surprise me at all to find out it took him over a decade to write， after half a lifetime of pondering the book's fundamental questions。 One warning is that although this book is incredibly deep and revelatory， it is less than approachable。 With an undergraduate education， it took me about ten months to read。 Although having a background in neuropsychology is not necessary， I would argue that a background in philosophy is， in order to follow the vocabulary and lines of argumentation。 That being said， its difficulty is not outweighed by its reward。 The patterns that McGilchrist describes are certainly convincing: Our brain creates human society; our brain has two hemispheres with radically different "takes" on the world"; Therefore， we should expect to （and most certainly do） see these "takes" manifest in our society， philosophy， and culture。 Some skepticism towards his thesis is warranted， for sure。 Yet， as he says in his conclusion， the notion that the world of the left-hemisphere dominates Western Civilization can be taken both literally and metaphorically-- that alone is fascinating and frightening。 All in all， its going to take me a while to recover from this book。 My lesser mind doesn't totally understand what to make of it， but it is certainly a profound scholarly work。 。。。more
Raphael
，
There are few books that complete shift my world view。 This is one of those。 I am not expert enough to judge the validity of the research。 All I can say is that this book is very well sourced， and that the picture it paints makes sense。 it convinced my left hemisphere of the need to let go of his all powerful worldview。 It literally blew me away， and it'll take me a long time to digest this and try to put my left hemisphere into his place。I am surprised （well， half surprised。。。） that this book h There are few books that complete shift my world view。 This is one of those。 I am not expert enough to judge the validity of the research。 All I can say is that this book is very well sourced， and that the picture it paints makes sense。 it convinced my left hemisphere of the need to let go of his all powerful worldview。 It literally blew me away， and it'll take me a long time to digest this and try to put my left hemisphere into his place。I am surprised （well， half surprised。。。） that this book has got the attention it deserves。 The world needs to hear this message。 I find it especially relevant in our new post-covid world， in which we are pushing the gas toward a more virtual， dehumanized world where everything has to be controlled and we can't tolerate any intrusion of the natural world。 A left hemisphere world。A must-read 。。。more
George
，
There were so many useful insights。 It was a long read to get to them， but I don't think a shorter book could have had the same impact。 There were so many useful insights。 It was a long read to get to them， but I don't think a shorter book could have had the same impact。 。。。more
Stephen Antczak
，
I am reluctantly giving this 3 stars because while I appreciated the attention to detail and apparently exhaustive accounts of neuroscience research， I felt that the attempt to connect his ideas to historical "eras" was clumsy and at times just silly。 When one reads a book like this， it is important to consider what has been left out as opposed to what was used to make the argument。 Much was left out， and a lot of what was used seemed to be intentionally misrepresented。 However， there is no doub I am reluctantly giving this 3 stars because while I appreciated the attention to detail and apparently exhaustive accounts of neuroscience research， I felt that the attempt to connect his ideas to historical "eras" was clumsy and at times just silly。 When one reads a book like this， it is important to consider what has been left out as opposed to what was used to make the argument。 Much was left out， and a lot of what was used seemed to be intentionally misrepresented。 However， there is no doubt that human civilization as it is now is responsible for crisis of global proportions， and we can't simply keep on keepin' on。 I'm just not sure this book provides any real answers in that regard， except perhaps among those in the ivory tower。 。。。more
Joel Silverberg
，
This book took me two years to finish。 Between starting and finishing I picked other books up along the way， as I found that too much time spent reading， especially in the first half of the book， would send my mind into a kind of 'hall of mirrors' spiral of self analysis and reflection。 In short， this book changed the way I have looked at the world while working on it and has inspired a way of thinking for me which impacts how I view relationships， work， and life。 I hope to pick it up again at l This book took me two years to finish。 Between starting and finishing I picked other books up along the way， as I found that too much time spent reading， especially in the first half of the book， would send my mind into a kind of 'hall of mirrors' spiral of self analysis and reflection。 In short， this book changed the way I have looked at the world while working on it and has inspired a way of thinking for me which impacts how I view relationships， work， and life。 I hope to pick it up again at least once or many times more。 。。。more
Nick
，
Nothing short of a masterpiece。 Uses neurology， psychology， philosophy， and culture to dis-integrate the mind for examination and re-integrate the findings into a new indivisible whole。
Shane
，
What do you do when the lunatics take over the asylum？ When you thought you were only visiting but realise you can’t leave – because all exits are blocked， windows barred and wards locked – do you sound an alarm？The author of this extensively researched masterwork， Iain McGilchrist， taught English literature before he became a shrink。 So his broad perspective transcends the reductive tendencies of his profession。 Equally at home in the fields of history， science， the arts and psychiatry， he draw What do you do when the lunatics take over the asylum？ When you thought you were only visiting but realise you can’t leave – because all exits are blocked， windows barred and wards locked – do you sound an alarm？The author of this extensively researched masterwork， Iain McGilchrist， taught English literature before he became a shrink。 So his broad perspective transcends the reductive tendencies of his profession。 Equally at home in the fields of history， science， the arts and psychiatry， he draws on the findings of cutting-edge neuroscience to elucidate how the left and right cerebral hemispheres differ。 And then he charts shifts in the relationship of their contrasting natures on a macrocosmic scale through the course of human history， e。g。:In the Renaissance， as in the nineteenth century， when the right hemisphere was in the ascendant， death was omnipresent in life and literature， was openly spoken of， and was seen as part of the fabric of life itself， in recognition of which alone life could have meaning。 According to the left-hemisphere view， death is the ultimate challenge to its sense of control， and， on the contrary， robs life of meaning （p。 432）。 The right brain is the rightful master and the left the valued servant， its input essential for balance。 But a left hemisphere emphasis （and/or a right hemisphere deficit） corresponds， in a clinical context， to schizophrenia。 Translate that to the collective and we get digital culture: ‘Excessive self-consciousness， like the mental world of schizophrenia， is a prison: its inbuilt reflexivity – the hall of mirrors – sends the mind ever back into itself （p。 450）。’The problem is that brains with a left-hemisphere bias – those best adapted to our increasingly schizoid world – design and construct environments that emphasise left-hemisphere values， which in turn shape the inhabitants: a self-reinforcing circle。So how might we break out of the asylum？What ultimately unites the three realms of escape from the left hemisphere’s world which it has attacked in our time – the body， the spirit and art – is that they are all vehicles of love […] for love is the attractive power of the Other （p。 445）… With scholarship and passion， McGilchrist sounds a rallying cry， urging us to escape by way of obsolete because outdated， yet nonetheless viable， means before it’s too late。 Good luck with that。 In keeping with the spirit of his message， however， no summary can do this book justice。 Its ideas need to be experienced。 。。。more
Psychön
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"So what begins in the right hemisphere's world is ‘sent’ to the left hemisphere's world for processing， but must be ‘returned’ to the world of the right hemisphere where a new synthesis can be made。 Perhaps an analogy would be the relationship between reading and living。 Life can certainly have meaning without books， but books cannot have meaning without life。 Most of us probably share a belief that life is greatly enriched by them: life goes into books and books go back into life。 But the rela "So what begins in the right hemisphere's world is ‘sent’ to the left hemisphere's world for processing， but must be ‘returned’ to the world of the right hemisphere where a new synthesis can be made。 Perhaps an analogy would be the relationship between reading and living。 Life can certainly have meaning without books， but books cannot have meaning without life。 Most of us probably share a belief that life is greatly enriched by them: life goes into books and books go back into life。 But the relationship is not equal or symmetrical。 Nonetheless what is in them not only adds to life， but genuinely goes back into life and transforms it， so that life as we live it in a world full of books is created partly by books themselves。。。" 。。。more
Dinesh Cherupalla
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TL/DR: Very interesting book; opened my eyes to the way we interact with the world but also really， really longThe book was one of the most interesting I've ever read but BOY WAS IT DENSE。 I picked it up from the library and thought to myself "that book is THICK"。 At over 600 pages （although roughly 150 of them are notes and bibliography）， this one took me quite a while to get through。While the The Master and the Emissary is long， it is eye-opening and informative。 As students， we are taught tha TL/DR: Very interesting book; opened my eyes to the way we interact with the world but also really， really longThe book was one of the most interesting I've ever read but BOY WAS IT DENSE。 I picked it up from the library and thought to myself "that book is THICK"。 At over 600 pages （although roughly 150 of them are notes and bibliography）， this one took me quite a while to get through。While the The Master and the Emissary is long， it is eye-opening and informative。 As students， we are taught that the brain is made up to two hemispheres。 Pop psychology says the right side is artsy while the left side is mathematical。 However， this summary is a gross misinterpretation of what is actually happening in the mind。 It turns out the hemispheres have two completely different methods of interacting with and processing the world。 The right takes a big picture view， provides a broad range of focus， and strengthens connections with elements outside of the self。 This information is fed to the left hemisphere which "unfolds" the information， decontextualizes it， potentially finds something new， and focuses on how to make it relevant to the self。 This information is sent back to the right side to be put back into the larger context。 At least， that's how it's supposed to work。Much of the first part of the book focuses on the scientific aspects of the brain。 This includes the structure of the brain， research done on split brain patients， and those who have suffered strokes on one side of the brain。 I found Part I very interesting as it gave me insight into how the different hemispheres function。 It also talks about the philosophy of music， language， and consciousness。 These concepts are things that I had thought about but never to the extent it was laid out in this book。 It made me take a hard look at these concepts。Part II talks about how the left hemisphere has started to dominate Western culture。 The author， Iain McGilchrist， hypothesizes about how the hemispheres have influenced major cultural shifts from ancient times to modern day。 I found this section riveting。 It analyzes the art， poetry， and overall atmosphere of these historical periods and determines which hemisphere's worldview was prevalent。 I did find myself taking all this information with a grain of salt however。 While the author does use ample cultural evidence to support his claim， it's impossible to prove without going back in time。Being that the content deals with intense scientific and philosophical concepts， the prose is often very dry and quite advanced。 A major reason it took me so long to finish this book was that I had to re-read sections multiple times until I understood it。 That being said， the hypothesis and subject matter were so interesting， I was still able to stay engaged throughout the book。The hypothesis that McGilchrist posits throughout the book is that Western civilization has followed too far along using the left hemisphere process of thinking。 As to whether or not I agree with this， I am not sure。 While McGilchrist does bring up superb arguments， ultimately there is a lot that can never be fully proven and requires a leap of faith to arrive at those conclusions。 Of course， that might just be left hemisphere talking。What I will say is that is paradigm-shifting。 After reading， I've noticed ways in which the world seems to be decontextualized， governed by layers and layers of processes all in the hopes of making things better。 These are things that the left side does really well。 But there has been a lack of looking at the big picture and empathy behind this process-driven approach。 Maybe society is losing touch with the right hemisphere after all？ McGilchrist has opened my eyes to the pros and cons of this way of thinking。 I can see this tension of worldviews everywhere from global affairs to conversations with my friends。 My hope is to use this information any where I can and remind myself of the lessons learned from reading this back。 This book was very dense and very long。 But it's opened my eyes to the interesting ways that our mind （as well as our culture） works。 If you can stick it out for the full book， you will certainly come out with a new view （or potentially two different， competing views） on life。 。。。more
Nikolay Theosom
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The smartest thing I have read in a long while
PJ
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Recommended by Sarah Peyton
Paul moved to LibraryThing
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Starts off very promising but then abandons all pretence of science and just discusses poetry。 I understand the book is more about philosophy in its old meaning but I just wasn't persuaded because there weren't any concrete points just vague insinuations and attempts to redress what the author sees as the left side trashing the right for too long now。 Starts off very promising but then abandons all pretence of science and just discusses poetry。 I understand the book is more about philosophy in its old meaning but I just wasn't persuaded because there weren't any concrete points just vague insinuations and attempts to redress what the author sees as the left side trashing the right for too long now。 。。。more
Anders Gränfors
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Spretza rekar
Muhamed
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