---
product_id: 96981704
title: "The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World"
price: "₨21616"
currency: LKR
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reviews_count: 13
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---

# The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World

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## Description

A pioneering exploration of the differences between the brain’s right and left hemispheres and their effects on society, history, and culture "One of the few contemporary works deserving classic status” Nicholas Shakespeare, The Times “Persuasively argues that our society is suffering from the consequences of an over-dominant left hemisphere losing touch with its natural regulative ‘master’ the right. Brilliant and disturbing.”―Salley Vickers, a Guardian Best Book of the Year "I know of no better exposition of the current state of functional brain neuroscience.”―W. F. Bynum, TLS Why is the brain divided? The difference between right and left hemispheres has been puzzled over for centuries. Drawing upon a vast body of brain research, the renowned psychiatrist, author, and thinker Iain McGilchrist reveals that the difference between the two sides is profound―two whole, coherent, but incompatible ways of experiencing the world. The detail-oriented left hemisphere prefers mechanisms to living things and is inclined to self-interest, while the right hemisphere has greater breadth, flexibility, and generosity. In the second part of his book, McGilchrist takes the reader on a journey through the history of Western culture, illustrating the tension between these two worlds as revealed in the thought and belief of thinkers and artists from the ancient to the modern, from Aeschylus to Magritte. He ultimately argues that, despite its inferior grasp of reality, the left hemisphere is increasingly taking precedence in today’s world―with potentially disastrous consequences.

Review: A shifting balance of power between the brain hemispheres gives hope for our world - This is a fascinating and profoundly insightful exploration of the functions of the two hemispheres of our brain, and how they relate to one another; but it goes much further than that. From a sound background of brain research and neuro imaging covered in some considerable depth in Part One, the second Part goes on to make sense of these findings in a wider worldly context, suggesting how the balance of power may have switched between the two hemispheres over the centuries. We read how this may have influenced human behaviour and how this knowledge can be related to the history of Western culture and thought. The author is therefore able to provide convincing explanations for the present predicament the Western world finds itself in. I love the skilful use of metaphor throughout the book and the pace with which a new and fascinating story or idea unfolds with each page turned. There is so much that resonates with our human condition and the place we find ourselves in today, and it is difficult to do justice to the sheer scope of coverage in a brief review. It certainly makes sense to me in what I see around me, for example, that Christianity is losing its spirituality to dogma, and that individual responsibility is being dulled by increasing state interference, both symptomatic of a left hemispheric world. I can relate to the idea that our loss of cultural tradition and contact with the natural world reduces our ability to counter such left hemispheric dominance, but that body, soul and art combined may be able to resist such tendencies. The book poses important questions, such as: "Is the obvious inauthenticity of the mechanistic left hemispheric world now going to lead us to seek to change it?" Or "Can we learn from the cultural qualities and values of the East before they become Westernised beyond redemption?" Most importantly the author leaves us with a message of hope as he shows why there may still be time and opportunity for the empathic and intuitive right hemisphere to assert itself over the mechanistic and rational left hemisphere, with potentially huge significance for our future well being. Once I began reading I could not put this book down. With his vast experience and knowledge of medicine and psychiatry, philosophy and English literature, the author is more than well qualified to write a book of this enormous scope and depth. Erudite it certainly is, and the book will surely be essential reading for anyone involved in any study of the human brain and human behaviour. But the author's style is so easy and persuasive that any intelligent reader who is concerned for the state of our world should read and truly digest this quite unique and valuable book.
Review: An extraordinary revelation of how we have arrived at where we are. - This is not an easy read, but worth persevering. The first part is quite technical, but the information does provide the evidence for his hypothesis. It got more interesting (to me) in Part Two, where the changes in the culture were linked to changes in the level of consciousness at that time.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | 4,311 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 17 in History of Civilisation & Culture 54 in Higher Education of Biological Sciences 112 in Social & Cultural History |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 2,243 Reviews |

## Images

![The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/719ZE5nQbLL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A shifting balance of power between the brain hemispheres gives hope for our world
*by E***M on 9 January 2010*

This is a fascinating and profoundly insightful exploration of the functions of the two hemispheres of our brain, and how they relate to one another; but it goes much further than that. From a sound background of brain research and neuro imaging covered in some considerable depth in Part One, the second Part goes on to make sense of these findings in a wider worldly context, suggesting how the balance of power may have switched between the two hemispheres over the centuries. We read how this may have influenced human behaviour and how this knowledge can be related to the history of Western culture and thought. The author is therefore able to provide convincing explanations for the present predicament the Western world finds itself in. I love the skilful use of metaphor throughout the book and the pace with which a new and fascinating story or idea unfolds with each page turned. There is so much that resonates with our human condition and the place we find ourselves in today, and it is difficult to do justice to the sheer scope of coverage in a brief review. It certainly makes sense to me in what I see around me, for example, that Christianity is losing its spirituality to dogma, and that individual responsibility is being dulled by increasing state interference, both symptomatic of a left hemispheric world. I can relate to the idea that our loss of cultural tradition and contact with the natural world reduces our ability to counter such left hemispheric dominance, but that body, soul and art combined may be able to resist such tendencies. The book poses important questions, such as: "Is the obvious inauthenticity of the mechanistic left hemispheric world now going to lead us to seek to change it?" Or "Can we learn from the cultural qualities and values of the East before they become Westernised beyond redemption?" Most importantly the author leaves us with a message of hope as he shows why there may still be time and opportunity for the empathic and intuitive right hemisphere to assert itself over the mechanistic and rational left hemisphere, with potentially huge significance for our future well being. Once I began reading I could not put this book down. With his vast experience and knowledge of medicine and psychiatry, philosophy and English literature, the author is more than well qualified to write a book of this enormous scope and depth. Erudite it certainly is, and the book will surely be essential reading for anyone involved in any study of the human brain and human behaviour. But the author's style is so easy and persuasive that any intelligent reader who is concerned for the state of our world should read and truly digest this quite unique and valuable book.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An extraordinary revelation of how we have arrived at where we are.
*by D***W on 6 May 2026*

This is not an easy read, but worth persevering. The first part is quite technical, but the information does provide the evidence for his hypothesis. It got more interesting (to me) in Part Two, where the changes in the culture were linked to changes in the level of consciousness at that time.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Tour de force
*by M***L on 21 January 2022*

One of the most interesting and informative books this century. I would highly recommend listening to the audible version a few times before reading the book. The book covers many different subjects from many different angles; drawing on fields of knowledge which are often jealously policed by academic specialists. It’s a literary, scientific, and philosophical tour de force which gives many plausible explanations for the disastrous mess in which we find ourselves. McGilchrist mentions that the topics of each chapter are so vast that lifetimes of study and research would be needed to cover them; and this, for me, is the root of the problem. Thinking and studying in the way we do – in a predominantly left hemispheric manner in a predominantly left hemispherically organized culture – we can never hope to learn much in a lifetime or evolve; we can however, in our little detached spheres of ‘learning’ do a huge amount of damage to ourselves and our planet. In brief, there has to be another way of learning and living. But first, as McGilchrist points out, we should perhaps observe that overdriving the left hemisphere for centuries has created a hypertrophy of focus; we are hypnotised, in a deep trance state; as mystics rightly claim, we are asleep. The difficulty is that a sleeping ‘civilization’ has to realize that it is asleep. This book is a constructive way of beginning to understand what’s wrong and to begin to twitch a little in our own sleep. It’s interesting that the left hemisphere as described by McGilchrist, has many of the functions and attributes of the self which Idries Shah describes as the ‘Commanding Self’ in his book ‘The Sufis’ (greed, laziness, selfishness, envy etc). This ‘Commanding Self’ is a secondary self, common to all of us, which highjacks the real self. If we don’t observe it and control it, it will control us; it will become what we assume ourselves to be. It’s interesting because, as with McGilchrist’s emissary, the Commanding Self is a usurper. When this self is on the throne (or McGilchrist’s ‘Emissary’) we are upside down in relation to reality. As another Sufi, Hakim Sanai mentioned: ‘If you yourself are upside down in relation to reality, then your wisdom and faith are bound to be topsy turvy.’ In the following verse Sanai writes, ‘Stop weaving a net about yourself. Burst like a lion from the cage.’ Hopefully, understanding McGilchrist’s ‘Emissary’ brings us a little closer to understanding the cage maker; and the designs of our cages.

## Frequently Bought Together

- The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World
- The Matter With Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the World, 2 Volume Set
- Ways of Attending: How our Divided Brain Constructs the World

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*Last updated: 2026-10-09*