Iain McGilchrist: How faith can re-enchant a left-brained world

Iain McGilchrist is a psychiatrist and philosopher, and author of the books ‘The Master And His Emissary’ and ‘The Matter With Things’. Iain’s thesis on the left and right hemispheres of the brain has been highly influential. He believes ‘left hemispheric’ thinking has come to dominate much of modern culture in negative ways. He speaks with Belle and Justin about whether we can we re-enchant our view of the world by re-engaging a ‘right hemispheric’ view of life, love and faith.

Perhaps someone here may find interesting my own personal involvement in this subject of the neurology and separate functions of the two brain hemispheres. It seems that the usual pattern is for people to early settle on either primarily left-brain or right-brain pursuits in life. Maybe I am an exception in seeming to have been involved with both hemispheres for a lifetime.

I find this subject somewhat interesting because in my own life I seem to have (untypically) instinctively as part of my basic personal self fully engaged both hemispheres in my available skills and interests, if we are to take what may be an oversimplification of the neurology and separation of function of the two hemispheres.

I early apparently followed my left brain influence and developed a great interest in science and engineering and math; I was good at these things, and later went on to get a degree and go into to a lifelong successful career as an electronics engineer and software designer and programmer with Naval aircraft weapon control and radar/avionics systems. In those days I was a convinced materialist.

But at the same time I early on also pursued what seemed to be an instinctive bent involving my right brain, toward being an artist, starting out with an instinctive style of landscapes, still lifes and portraits in oils; this seemed to come out of myself automatically in an instinctively realistic style somewhat similar to the painters of the 16th and 17th centuries. Past life influence? - maybe. I accumulated a number of works, that have been judged by knowledgeable people as showing a somewhat unique and also high and professional level of quality. I never went to art school and had very little instruction - it seemed to be instinctive.

As another expression of the right hemisphere I also developed a great appreciation for classical music and for a while took on piano training. By the way, on the matter of possible past life influences, I have always been drawn to music of those same eras, harpsichord music, music of the little-known composer C.P.E. Bach, and others.

I had decided on the engineering/science career based on the expected much better income and job prospects, but always later in my life I have also been drawn to the artistic and musical side. I presently in retirement indulge a rather consuming and expensive audiophile hobby which not surprisingly involves both engineering and deep musical appreciation, in my case mainly classical but also jazz and some popular. To get heavily into this hobby involves and requires understanding of a number of technical/scientific disciplines such as acoustics, psychoacoustics, electronics, recording/reproducing technology, etc.