The Divided Brain

In this RSA produced video, the world of today is explained by Iain McGilchrist, a psychiatrist, writer, and former Oxford literary scholar. He came to prominence after the publication of his book The Master and His Emissary, subtitled The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World. The words of McGilchrist, and the illustrative and clever graphics accompanying the audio, describe how the two hemispheres of the brain operate and affect the way we interact with and see the world. He says that modern culture has developed a machine model of the brain that relies heavily on our left hemisphere and determines our perception of reality. While the rational perceptions of the left hemisphere offer much that is helpful and needed, the tendency is to sacrifice the intuitive and feeling experience of the right hemisphere - which limits our ability to relate humanely with others. We are not, of course, machines but we have been educated to think this rigidly rational and narrow focused view of life is how we should function to succeed in the world. In fact, we need both the broad intuitive focus and the narrow rational focus offered by the two hemispheres of the brain, otherwise we become lopsided and out of balance, lacking in empathy and appreciation for the subtle and beautiful aspects of reality that may be outside of rational explanation or experience. As humans, we do violence to ourselves in the way that we split off from our intuitive and feeling selves and overvalue our rational minds. In fact, the balancing of the brains perceptions offers hope for both a rational and feeling society that would be better for all.

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