
The Master and His Emissary
The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World
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Buy Now for $43.99
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Narrated by:
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Dennis Kleinman
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By:
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Iain McGilchrist
About this listen
In a book of unprecedented scope Iain McGilchrist presents a fascinating exploration of the differences between the brain’s left and right hemispheres and how those differences have affected society, history and culture.
McGilchrist draws on a vast body of recent research in neuroscience and psychology to reveal that the difference is profound: the left hemisphere is detail oriented, while the right has greater breadth, flexibility and generosity.
McGilchrist then takes the listener 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.
©2010 Iain McGilchrist (P)2019 TantorIain writes clearly and links concepts together with ease. Some of the historical art and philosophy sections seemed a bit lost on me, but were overall insightful. The ideas he presents touch on every aspect of human experience. This illuminates many areas of conflict within my our thought-life, society, and nature itself, increasing empathy and understanding along the way. Strap yourself in and get started with this great book!
Took me 6 months to get through, incredible, life changing.
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One of my all time favorites
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jam packed with information
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Though provoking and extremely well researched.
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Brilliant
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I rate it less than five stars because it engages in victim-blaming of Galileo, in the way that many Catholics do; 'it was his own fault for having a prickly personality'. Pretty disgusting excusing of threats of torture, for the 'crime' of publicising evidence that went against the Church's dogma.
Also, he fails to properly understand Dawkins, offering a truncated and dismissive recounting of memetic theory, without properly engaging with it - save to decry it as being based on Left- hemisphere reasoning, which isn't really an argument. One gets the feeling that the author has ulterior motives for disagreeing with what he calls 'the Dawkins Delusion' - I suspect McGilchrist is a theist and for some reason chooses to hide this from the reader.
There were other philosophical arguments in the second half of the book which I personally found disagreeable but were less egregious.
A great book in the first half, where it bases its reasoning in science, but weaker in the second, where the author goes into history and philosophy. Always remember to think for yourself and question where the author might be coming from.
Fascinating book - some flawed philosophy
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Worth the effort.
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To Iain
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Difficult but well worth it
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Feeling frazzled?
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