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The 608-page book is about the specialist hemispheric functioning of the brain. The differing world views of the right and left brain (the "Master" and "Emissary" in the title, respectively) have, according to the author, shaped Western culture since the time of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, and the growing conflict between these views has implications for the way the modern world is ...
The right hemisphere, on the other hand, has a broad and flexible attention that is open to whatever possibilities come along, and it sees things in their wider context, appreciates the implicit, and favours "both/and" (integration, holism). The right hemisphere has a better appreciation of itself and the left, than the left has of the right.
Many of the studies and experiments build on the initial approach of Gazzaniga in which the right hemisphere is instructed to do things that the left hemisphere is unaware of, e.g. by providing the instructions within the visual field that is only accessible to the right brain. The left-brain interpreter will nonetheless construct a contrived ...
Superior-lateral view of the brain, showing left and right hemispheres. McGilchrist's 2009 work, The Master and His Emissary has sold over 200,000 copies worldwide. [16] In very basic terms, it sought to consolidate research in brain lateralisation and to insist on the individual and cultural importance of the bi-hemisphere structure of the brain.
The concept of "right-brained" or "left-brained" individuals is considered a widespread myth which oversimplifies the true nature of the brain's cerebral hemispheres (for a recent counter position, though, see below). Proof leading to the "mythbuster" of the left-/right-brained concept is increasing as more and more studies are brought to light.
The left brain sees the flower while the right brain is simultaneously viewing the rabbit. When the patients were asked what they saw, they said they only saw the flower and did not see the rabbit. The flower is in the right visual field and the left hemisphere can only see the flower.
The theory posits that the human mind once operated in a state in which cognitive functions were divided between one part of the brain that appears to be "speaking" and a second part that listens and obeys—a bicameral mind—and that the breakdown of this division gave rise to consciousness in humans.
In addition to numerous reviews and commentaries, there are several summaries of the book's material, for example, in the journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences, and in lectures and discussions published in Canadian Psychology. [4] While the book sparked debates and controversies, it has left a lasting impact on the study of consciousness and ...