Autumn 2009 Catalogue 4 pdfing:1 - Yale University Press

Science/Psychology 7A fascinating, deeply researchedexploration of the differencesbetween the brain’s left andright hemispheres, and theireffect on society, history andcultureAn fMRI scan of the brain, highlighting Broca’s area (which controls speech and language).The Master and His EmissaryThe Divided Brain and theMaking of the Western WorldIain McGilchristWhy is the brain divided? The difference between right and lefthemispheres has been puzzled over for centuries. In a book ofunprecedented scope, Iain McGilchrist draws on a vast body of recentbrain research, illustrated with case histories, to reveal that thedifference is profound—not just this or that function, but two whole,coherent, but incompatible ways of experiencing the world. The lefthemisphere is detail oriented, prefers mechanisms to living things andis inclined to self-interest, where the right hemisphere has greaterbreadth, flexibility and generosity. This division helps explain theorigins of music and language, and casts new light on the history ofphilosophy, as well as on some mental illnesses.“A work of grand ambition, brilliantlyachieved; eloquent, moving, andremarkable for the depth and scope ofits scholarship.”—Professor Louis Sass,Rutgers UniversityOctober448 pp. 234x156mm.40 b/w + 15 colour illus.ISBN 978-0-300-14878-7 £25.00*In the second part of the book, he takes the reader on a journeythrough the history of Western culture, illustrating the tension betweenthese two worlds as revealed in the thought and belief of thinkers andartists, from Aeschylus to Magritte. He argues that, despite its inferiorgrasp of reality, the left hemisphere is increasingly taking precedence inthe modern world, with potentially disastrous consequences. This istruly a tour de force that should excite interest in a wide readership.Iain McGilchrist is a former Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, wherehe taught literature before training in medicine. He has an interest inbrain research and now works privately in London, where he was aconsultant and clinical director at the Bethlem Royal and MaudsleyHospital.Translation rights: David Higham Associates Ltd, London