The Master and His Emissary; The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World

by Iain McGilchrist

• ISBN13: 9780300148787
• ISBN10: 030014878X
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2009-12-15
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

Why is the brain divided? The difference between right and left hemispheres has been puzzled over for centuries. In a book of unprecedented scope, Iain McGilchrist draws on a vast body of recent brain research, illustrated with case histories, to reveal that the difference is profoundnot just this or that function, but two whole, coherent, but incompatible ways of experiencing the world. The left hemisphere is detail oriented, prefers mechanisms to living things, and is inclined to self-interest, where the right hemisphere has greater breadth, flexibility, and generosity. This division helps explain the origins of music and language, and casts new light on the history of philosophy, as well as on some mental illnesses. In the second part of the book, McGilchrist takes the reader on a journey through the history of Western culture, illustrating the tension between these two worlds as revealed in the thought and belief of thinkers and artists, from Aeschylus to Magritte. He argues that, despite its inferior grasp of reality, the left hemisphere is increasingly taking precedence in the modern world, with potentially disastrous consequences. This is truly a tour de force that should excite interest in a wide readership.

Author Biography

Iain McGilchrist is a former Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, where he taught literature before training in medicine. He has an interest in brain research and now works privately in London, where he was a consultant and clinical director at the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospital.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. vi
Acknowledgements	p. viii
Introduction: The Master and His Emissary	p. 1
The Divided Brain	p. 15
Asymmetry and the Brain	p. 16
What do the Two Hemispheres 'Do'?	p. 32
Language, Truth and Music	p. 94
The Nature of the Two Worlds	p. 133
The Primacy of the Right Hemisphere	p. 176
The Triumph .of the Left Hemisphere	p. 209
How The Brain Has Shaped Our World	p. 239
Imitation and the Evolution of Culture	p. 240
The Ancient World	p. 257
The Renaissance and the Reformation	p. 298
The Enlightenment	p. 330
Romanticism and the Industrial Revolution	p. 352
The Modern and Post-Modern Worlds	p. 389
Conclusion: The Master Betrayed	p. 428
Notes	p. 463
Bibliography	p. 518
Index	p. 586
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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