Right Hemisphere Thinking

Iain McGilchrist's central thesis in his book The Master and His Emissary is that the two hemispheres of our brian do not necessarily do different things (both are involved in almost everything), but they do things differently—they pay two fundamentally distinct types of attention to the world. 

Two Modes of Attention

McGilchrist argues that every living creature must solve two conflicting problems simultaneously:

• Left Hemisphere Thinking (Narrow Attention):  Focuses on specific, isolated details to "grasp" and manipulate objects (e.g., a bird focusing on a single grain of sand to eat).
• Right Hemisphere Thinking (Broad Attention):  Maintains open, vigilant, and sustained awareness of the whole context to avoid becoming prey and to relate to the living world

Evolutionary Specialisation and Attentional Breadth

The right hemisphere is defined by a broad, open, and sustained vigilance that is fundamental to the survival of all vertebrates. While the left hemisphere focuses narrowly on a specific target for manipulation, such as a piece of grain or prey, the right hemisphere maintains an uncommitted alertness to the broader environment.

This dual system allows a creature to feed while simultaneously remaining watchful for predators, mates, and offspring. In humans, this form of attention provides a necessary distance from the immediacy of experience, enabling individuals to stand back in time and space to see the whole picture rather than just the parts.

Gestalt Perception and the Living World

The phenomenological world brought into being by the right hemisphere is one of interconnectedness, flow, and constant change.

It perceives reality as a gestalt—a whole that is fundamentally different from and greater than the sum of its parts. Within this experiential framework, nothing is ever entirely separate or completely fixed; instead, the world is understood as a web of living relations.

This hemisphere has an affinity for the organic and the animate, viewing the body as something to be lived rather than a mechanical assemblage of parts to be possessed. Because it is in touch with experience itself rather than a mere representation, it functions as the first and last stop of all human experience.

The Realm of the Implicit and Theory of Mind

The right hemisphere is the primary seat of understanding for the implicit realm, which includes meaning that lies between the lines of explicit language.

While the left hemisphere manages literal syntax and denotative definitions, the right hemisphere is responsible for comprehending irony, metaphor, jokes, and narrative. This capacity is closely linked to theory of mind, the ability to put oneself in another person's position and understand their mental state.

It recognises emotions through facial expressions and interprets body language and vocal intonation to grasp the true intention of an utterance. Without this nuanced perspective, human interaction is reduced to a literalism that lacks proportion and humor.

Moral Judgment and the Unified Self

Morality and justice are deeply underwritten by the right hemisphere, particularly the right frontal region. Damage to these areas can lead to psychopathic behavior or a marked increase in selfishness, as the capacity to see another's point of view is impaired.

The right hemisphere is also responsible for maintaining a coherent, continuous, and unified sense of self over time. This self-concept is not an expression of will, which is a left-hemisphere function, but a personal narrative rooted in emotional memory and a sense of flow-like existence. Through this hemisphere, the individual experiences a sense of belonging to a community and a reciprocal relationship with society.

The Integration of Knowledge

The process of acquiring rich and complete knowledge follows a specific sequence of transfers between the hemispheres: from the right to the left and back to the right.

Thought originates in the right hemisphere's holistic experience, is processed for expression and categorisation by the left, and is finally returned to the right for synthesis into a usable whole.

This final stage is essential for true comprehension, as it reintegrates abstract analysis with the original gestalt to generate a transformed understanding. When this integration is successful, the rationality of the left hemisphere is resubmitted to the intuitive wisdom and emotional complexity of the right.

Wisdom, the Sacred, and the Master Allegory

In the framework of hemispheric relations, the right hemisphere is designated as the wise master who governs a flourishing kingdom.

It understands that focusing too much on any single part of the kingdom would cause it to lose sight of the whole. The right hemisphere is the seat of creativity, spiritual inspiration, and the experience of the divine—aspects of life that transcend everyday language.

Wisdom begins with the humility of the right hemisphere, which is aware of the limits of its own knowledge. It recognises that truth is a process of discovery or unveiling rather than a set of fixed propositions to be possessed.

Historical Harmony and Contemporary Decline

The evolution of Western culture has seen periods where the two hemispheres functioned in harmony, such as pre-Socratic Ancient Greece, the Augustan era in Rome, and the Renaissance.

During these intervals, imaginative and creative societies made significant advances in science and law while simultaneously flourishing in music, poetry, and architecture. However, the modern world is increasingly dominated by a left-hemisphere point of view, resulting in a reductionist and materialist model of reality.

This shift toward the mechanical and the explicit has led to a loss of proportion and a destruction of the classical canon. To avoid civilisational collapse, there is a necessity to restore the living, intuitive, and embodied form of attention that is the hallmark of the right hemisphere.

Physiological and Neurological Expressions

Anatomically, the right hemisphere is broader at the front, protruding further than the left, and governs the left side of the body. When the left hand is liberated from central control, it performs exploratory movements, such as feeling its way toward an object, whereas the right hand tends toward purposeless grabbing.

The right hemisphere modulates body functions through the sympathetic nervous system, regulating heart rate and arousal in response to new or uncertain situations. Unlike the left hemisphere, which is prone to confabulation and delusion when damaged, the right hemisphere acts as a reality check, testing theories against experience.