Do the hemispheres of the brain influence culture? Do cultures favor, or even represent, either the right or left brain? Can the hemispheres cause conflict? Iain McGilchrist has a novel take on these questions, plus a warning. Take a look at his essay "The Battle of the Brain" (Wall Street Journal) adapted from his new book The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World.
Excerpt:
Why is the brain divided? If it is about making connections, why has evolution so carefully preserved the segregation of its hemispheres? Almost every function once thought to be the province of one or other hemisphere—language, imagery, reason, emotion—is served by both hemispheres, not one.
There is nonetheless a highly significant difference in how the two hemispheres work, giving rise to two wholly distinct takes on the world. Normally we synthesize them without being aware that we are doing so. But one of the two hemispheres can come to dominate—and just as this may happen for individuals, it may also happen for a whole culture.
There is nonetheless a highly significant difference in how the two hemispheres work, giving rise to two wholly distinct takes on the world. Normally we synthesize them without being aware that we are doing so. But one of the two hemispheres can come to dominate—and just as this may happen for individuals, it may also happen for a whole culture.
Click to read the rest.
Click to read Review of The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World.
Comments