The host reflects on the book and discusses the embrace of ambiguity, challenges of accepting paradoxes, length and difficulty of the book, contradiction in the author's use of the left side of the brain, different ways of perceiving a whole, and hopes for readers' understanding.
Psychiatrist and author Iain McGilchrist talks about his book, The Master and His Emissary, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. McGilchrist argues we have misunderstand the purpose and effect of the divided brain. The left side is focused, concrete, and confident while the right side is about integration of ourselves with the complexity of the world around us. McGilchrist uses this distinction to analyze the history of western civilization. This is a wide-ranging conversation that includes discussions of poetry, philosophy, and economics.