In this Chapter, McGilchrist focusses on two key points; the asymmetry of the brain structure (which affects brain function) and ways of attending.
Here McGilchrist introduces the idea of asymmetry, not just of structure, but also of function, and then this becomes an important thread that runs through the book. In the past, the two hemispheres have often been discussed simply in terms of left and right, with erroneous claims being made for each, e.g. if you like art and are creative you are a right-brained thinker, if you like analysis, abstraction and detailed facts, then you are a left-brained thinker. McGilchrist debunks all this saying strongly that both hemispheres are involved in almost everything, but they are not involved equally. Their engagement is asymmetric, as is the structure of the brain. Structure and function are closely associated. This asymmetry is not only between left and right, but also between front and back of each side of the brain.
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The other main theme in this Chapter is attention. McGilchrist claims that the asymmetry of the two hemispheres has a large part to play in how we attend to the word. The two hemispheres have different ways of ‘being’ in the world. It is interesting that when, in 2019, McGilchrist published a short introduction to his work, he focussed on attention. This very short text (32 pages) bears the title – 'Ways of Attending. How our brain constructs the world’.
For me, whilst I might not be physically aware that my brain is asymmetrical, (as McGilchrist notes, under normal circumstance we don’t have an asymmetrical cranium), I can relate to two ways of attending in my own experience. Note though that McGilchrist didn’t call his book ‘two’ ways of attending, but simply ‘ways of attending’. I’m not sure whether or not this is significant, but I do think this is a significant chapter in the book, and I wonder whether it is sometimes overlooked in favour of Chapter 2 – ‘What do the two hemispheres do?’
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