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

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

by Iain McGilchrist (Author) Format: Paperback
4.6 out of 5 stars (2,336)

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A pioneering exploration of the differences between the brain’s right and left hemispheres and their effects on society, history, and culture—“one of the few contemporary works deserving classic status” (Nicholas Shakespeare, Times, UK)
 
“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
 
“I know of no better exposition of the current state of functional brain neuroscience.”—W. F. Bynum, Times Literary Supplement
 
Why is the brain divided? The difference between right and left hemispheres has been puzzled over for centuries. Drawing upon a vast body of brain research, the renowned psychiatrist, author, and thinker Iain McGilchrist reveals that the difference between the two sides is profound—two whole, coherent, but incompatible ways of experiencing the world. The detail-oriented left hemisphere prefers mechanisms to living things and is inclined to self-interest, while the right hemisphere has greater breadth, flexibility, and generosity.
 
In the second part of his 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 the ancient to the modern, from Aeschylus to Magritte. He ultimately argues that, despite its inferior grasp of reality, the left hemisphere is increasingly taking precedence in today’s world—with potentially disastrous consequences.
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  1. Print length
    616 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Yale University Press
  4. Publication date
    March 26, 2019
  5. Dimensions
    8.5 x 5.6 x 1.6 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0300245920
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0300245929
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“One of the few contemporary works deserving classic status.”—Nicholas Shakespeare, Times (UK)

“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”

“A landmark. . . . It tells a story you need to hear, of where we live now.”—Bryan Appleyard, Sunday Times

“McGilchrist describes broad [intellectual] movements and famous figures as if they were battles and soldiers in a 2,500-year war between the brain’s hemispheres. . . . A scintillating intelligence is at work.”—The Economist

“A veritable tour de force, gradually and skilfully revealed. I know of no better exposition of the current state of functional brain neuroscience.”—W. F. Bynum, Times Literary Supplement

“Clear, penetrating, lively, thorough and fascinating. . . . I couldn’t put it down.”—Mary Midgley, The Guardian

“A seminal book.”—Ervin László, Huffington Post

“A fascinating book. . . . [McGilchrist] is a subtle and clever thinker, and unusually qualified to range with such authority over so many different domains of knowledge.”—Harry Eyres, Financial Times

“Game-changing, both personally and culturally.”—Australian House & Garden

“A beautifully written, erudite, fascinating and adventurous book.”—A. C. Grayling, Literary Review

“Fascinating and elegantly written.”—Grethe Hooper Hansen, Association for Humanistic Psychology in Britain Magazine

“A densely researched and entirely thrilling examination of the difference between the two kinds of thinking typical of the right and left hemispheres of the brain.”—Philip Pullman, New Statesman

Winner of the Scientific and Medical Network Book Prize 2009

Shortlisted for the Bristol Festival of Ideas Book Prize 2010

Longlisted for the Royal Society Book Prize 2010

“Iain McGilchrist’s ideas about human capabilities are among the most provocative I’ve encountered—and I mean provocative in a positive sense.”—Howard Gardner

“A dazzling masterpiece . . . comprehensive and profound.”—Norman Doidge

“A marvellous and highly original synthesis of ideas on how the division of labour between the two brain hemispheres can provide key insights into human nature.”—V. S. Ramachandran

“Unbelievably rich. . . . Of absolutely crucial cultural and intellectual importance.”—Louis Sass

About the Author

Iain McGilchrist is a former fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, where he taught literature before training in medicine. He now lives on the Isle of Skye, where he continues to write, and lectures worldwide.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 26, 2019
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Second Edition, New Expanded
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 616 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0300245920
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0300245929
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.8 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.6 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #13,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars (2,336)

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Iain McGilchrist

Iain McGilchrist

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Dr Iain McGilchrist is a psychiatrist, neuroscience researcher, philosopher and literary scholar. He is a Quondam Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and former Consultant Psychiatrist and Clinical Director at the Bethlem Royal & Maudsley Hospital, London. 

He has been a Research Fellow in neuroimaging at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore and a Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Studies in Stellenbosch.  He has published original articles and research papers in a wide range of publications on topics in literature, philosophy, medicine and psychiatry. 

He is the author of a number of books, but is best-known for The Master and his Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World (Yale 2009), and The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions and the Unmaking of the World (Perspective 2021).

He lives on the Isle of Skye, has two daughters and a son, and now grandchildren.

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