Again, although this chapter is not especially long, it is very dense and packed full of information. It has been difficult to decide what makes a good set of notes. I could condense this further, or even simply copy and paste McGilchrist’s own summary from p.328/9, but whilst this might provide the essence of what he has to say about The Renaissance and The Reformation, it wouldn’t provide any indication of how he arrives at his association of The Renaissance with right hemisphere, and The Reformation with the left hemisphere. So I have decided to go for fuller notes, mainly because they will help me to more easily remember the text, but a lot of the wording of these notes comes direct from the book, even if somewhat rearranged for my own purposes of understanding.

Mostly this chapter tries to justify how McGilchrist links these historical eras to the left and right hemispheres, making reference to the work of artists, poets, musicians and scientists. Much of it appears to be based on his personal interpretation of what he finds. He seems to be looking for patterns, rather than evidence, and then sharing the patterns he finds – but of course he is seeking patterns through the lens of his metaphor (i.e. the title of the book).

But two points stood out for me.

First, I have been questioning through the last week or so, what it is that causes a shift back to the right hemisphere. Does it require a global crisis, as we now have with the COVID-19 pandemic? I was pleased to read on p.314 that McGilchrist suggests that there are two possible responses to the inauthenticity of representation of the left hemisphere world. 1. Longing for the vibrancy and freshness of the world (the right hemisphere’s response). 2. To reject the right hemisphere’s world and see it as intrinsically inauthentic and invalid. In this case the left hemisphere’s values become more entrenched. I think it is possible to see both these responses in the general population in response to the current pandemic. The question remains though, what is it that determines which route civilisation ultimately goes down and why? Could the answer to this question be explained in terms of a battle of wills between the hemispheres, or is it much more complex than this?

And second, in the conclusion to this chapter, I note that McGilchrist refers to the salience of the right hemisphere, rather than the primacy, of the right hemisphere, 

For the most part, however, the changes that occurred at around this period do suggest the salience of

primarily the right hemisphere’s world (p.328).

I wonder at the choice of the word salience, rather than primacy, given that the use of the word primacy, with reference to the right hemisphere leads some to think McGilchrist biased in favour of the right hemisphere.

Continue to:

• Chapter 10: The Enlightenment

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