In his recent documentary The Divided Brain, Iain McGilchrist introduces remarkable new insights about the left and right hemispheres of the brain, and how they each interpret the world differently. Years of research has led him to believe that our modern world’s left brain dominance has critically upset the balance of our social and ecological systems.
For many years, we have understood the left and right hemispheres of the brain to have different functions, but McGilchrist shows that it is not what they do, but how they do it that is fundamentally different. Here we will look at the basis of his theory and how, if possible, to recover the balance needed to divert humanity from its path of destruction.
Background
The concept of left brain vs. right brain began in the 1960s, with an audacious attempt to help people with epilepsy. Neuropsychologist Roger Sperry severed the corpus callosum, a structure that connects the two hemispheres with millions of nerve fibers through which they communicate.
When the two halves of the brain no longer communicated, the epileptic seizures largely stopped. Success! Yet the procedure also allowed neurologists to observe the functions of each side independently. This research revealed many differences that led to a theory of lateralization that was widely accepted for some time.
“Left brained” people were said to be skilled in logic, language, and fine details, while “right brained” people were more emotional and intuitive, with talent in the arts. But it is not that simple. It eventually became clear that each side of the brain is actually involved in everything — but it is the way that they think that is different.
One body, two brains
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This was demonstrated in the epileptic patients with separated hemispheres. The two brains appeared to be sending contradictory messages. Since they were not communicating, the left and right hands (each controlled by the opposite side of the brain) would continually frustrate one another, making it impossible to solve a puzzle or even pick out something to wear.
McGilchrist observed another telling situation with stroke patients who suffered loss on the right side of the brain. Such individuals frequently display symptoms of “neglect.” That is, they are unable to register and react to the whole picture, and behave as if the left side of their world does not exist. The same is true for animals.
“The left hemisphere on its own is deeply deluded, in fact, and is unaware of its deficit. It doesn’t have insight, and it doesn’t realize what it’s missing.”
Iain McGilchrist
The question remained, Why? “Why do we have two separate centers of consciousness?” McGilChrist said “the penny dropped” at Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, where the department of behavioral neuroscience was conducting research on pigeons.
After pigeons were trained to recognize humans in photos, the birds were tested for recognition with one eye blindfolded and the photos distorted. The right-eyed (left brained) pigeons indicated seeing a human even when the image was terribly distorted, while the left-eyed (right brained) pigeons no longer recognized the distorted images as human.
McGilchrist linked the two different perceptions with survival instincts. The ability to pick out fine details was necessary for finding food, while the ability to make sense of the whole picture was critical for protection. Both are necessary for survival, and they are equally important for humans.
Left brain cognitive strategy
According to McGilchrist, the left hemisphere of the brain employs a narrow, sharply focused attention to detail. It sees things in terms of their usefulness. It seeks data, but lacks the capacity to make connections, understand humor, and perceive nuances. It tends to organize people into groups rather than see them as individuals
Right brain cognitive strategy
The right hemisphere of the brain sees a broad view of the world and perceives interconnectedness. It is the master of the brain, and understands relationships, body language, metaphor, and how we fit into the whole of creation.
How the two sides of the brain impact humanity
Indigenous peoples and primitive societies, although not technologically advanced, tend to have a profound understanding of our natural environment and, under the guidance of the right hemisphere, they maintain a healthy relationship with it.
As society becomes more advanced, the left hemisphere’s cognitive strategy gains prominence, and reductive, regulated, abstract thinking pushes us to progress forward. When the two are balanced, humanity thrives.
McGilchrist cites three flourishing civilizations of the western world as an example. Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, and the Renaissance were periods when art and science came together in harmony — there was a great thirst for knowledge, but also a great appreciation of the arts.
Using art as a gauge, he looked for a sense of depth — not only in space, but in time and emotion. Depth is a concept of the right hemisphere, and McGilchrist points out how well developed it was in the art at the peak of these civilizations.
Towards their decline, however, we see art become more “flat,” faces are void of expression, and scenes lack context; marking a distinct shift from right brain to left brain dominance.
The left hemisphere’s “most daring maneuver” as McGilchrist puts it, was the Industrial Revolution — with an onslaught of control and exploitation of our natural environment. Notably, fragmented, geometric, abstract art gained popularity in the period following the Industrial Revolution.
The problem with giving the left brain free reign is that such thinking then becomes institutionalized — leading to even greater imbalance.
Left brain dominance Institutionalized
When we start out as little humans, the right hemisphere of the brain develops early. Young children are creative, intuitive, and keenly receptive to facial expression and body language. As our logic-loving left brain begins to catch up, we nurture it — often to the extent of neglecting the right.
With a formal education that places a strong emphasis on acquiring knowledge, quantifying, calculating, extracting and abstracting, we gradually lose touch with our innate insight. As we progress through the educational system, we are encouraged to specialize in a narrow field, learn to dissect literature rather than embracing its universal message, and view things through narrow political contexts.
We are trained to be smart people who lack wisdom.
Even our social structures — gridded cities, rectilinear buildings, office cubicles, and in agriculture, endless rows of monoculture — demonstrate the left hemisphere’s preference for order and ease of manipulation.
One could say that today we have reached the extreme. We think we are so advanced with AI generated art and powerful computers in everyone’s pockets, yet the world around us is extremely vulnerable. Is it not time to turn the tide?
In calling for a paradigm shift, McGilchrist recalled a piece of wisdom credited to Albert Einstein:
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
In conclusion, he spoke of love, as a pure attention to the existence of another, and as the meaning of life. Can we extend that attention, now, to the extraordinary gift that is our natural world?
