Master and His Emissary

The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World

McGilchrist Iain

This pioneering account sets out to understand the structure of the human brain – the place where mind meets matter. Until recently, the left hemisphere of our brain has been seen as the 'rational' side, the superior partner to the right. But is this distinction true?

Drawing on a vast body of experimental research, Iain McGilchrist argues while our left brain makes for a wonderful servant, it is a very poor master. As he shows, it is the right side which is the more reliable and insightful. Without it, our world would be mechanistic – stripped of depth, colour and value.

About the Author

Iain McGilchrist is a former Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, where he taught literature before training in medicine. He is an associate Fellow of Green Templeton College, Oxford, a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Consultant Emeritus of the Bethlem and Maudsley Hospital, London, and has researched in neuroimaging at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. He now lives on the Isle of Skye, where he continues to write, and lectures worldwide.

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