Started reading The Master and his Emissary – the divided brain and the wester world by Iain McGilchrist.
He argues that the two hemispheres of the brain have not merely different skills,but have very different perspectives on the world. He sees the differences lying not, as has been supposed, in the What – which skills each hemisphere possesses – but in the how, the way in which each uses them, and to what end. McGilchrist draws on a vast body of recent brain reasearch and illustrates his thesis with fascinating case studies.
He suggests that the left hemisphere is designed to exploit the world effectively, but is narrow in focus and favours theory rather than experience. It rejects living things in preference for mechanisms ignoring whatever is not explicit, despite evidence to the contrary is absolutely certain of itself and lacks empathy. In contrast the right hemisphere has a broader and much more subtle understanding of the world but lacks the certainty to counter assertions of the left hemisphere.
The metaphor of the master and the emassary in the title of the book is based on the understanding that the relationship between the hemisphere is not symetrical. The left hemisphere, though unaware of its dependence, could be thought of as an ’emissary’ of the right hemisphere, valuable for taking on a role that it – the ‘Master’ – cannot itself afford to undertake. However it turns out that the emissary has his own will, and secretly believes himself to be superior to the Master. And he has the means to betray him. What he doesn’t realise is that in doing so he will also betray himself.
