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The Master and His Emissary
- The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World
- Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman
- Length: 27 hrs and 15 mins
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The Master and His Emissary
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Summary
In a book of unprecedented scope Iain McGilchrist presents a fascinating exploration of the differences between the brain’s left and right hemispheres and how those differences have affected society, history and culture.
McGilchrist draws on a vast body of recent research in neuroscience and psychology to reveal that the difference is profound: the left hemisphere is detail oriented, while the right has greater breadth, flexibility and generosity.
McGilchrist then takes the listener 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 Aeschylus to Magritte.
What listeners say about The Master and His Emissary
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jim Vaughan
- 19-09-20
Revolutionary Re-enchantment
If, like me, you despair of reductionism, over-simplification, the disenchantment and commodification of animals and the living world which allows the ruthless exploitation of the planet, this book explains why it is happening. We are half losing our minds, or at least the hemisphere that silently sees reality as a whole. Welcome instead to the machine!
McGilchrist is something of a polymath, a neuropsychiatrist with expertise spanning neuroscience, philosophy, phenomenology, biology, art history, music and literature.
This is therefore a highly intellectual and intelligent book, charting the modern cultural takeover of “left hemisphere” atomistic conceptual thinking, and the suppression of “right hemisphere” holistic perception. The verbose Emissary, has subverted the ineffable vision of the Master. We mistake our map for the territory.
As an aside, this is one of the best explications of the Phenomenology of Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty and others I know.
Clearly narrated (though some pronunciations seemed a little odd at times), this is a book of huge importance for western culture at this time, and the future of our planet.
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23 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Tim
- 27-03-21
An Intelectual Masterpiece !
A most interesting and thought provoking book. As someone with an interest in brain lateralisation & function, I have read part one of this book (The Divided Brain) twice. But I never got round to the part two, (How the Brain Has Shaped Our World). This was mainly due to personal laziness, but at over 600 pages it is quite a tome, and it's not exactly light reading. I was delighted to see it available on audible and have now completed it from cover to cover, enjoying every moment. As well as the obvious neuroscience and psycology, it also covers philosophy, history, art and music. The only downside is Mcgilchrist is such an undisputed genius, it does leave one feeling somewhat intellectually lacking. Joking aside, it's a truly great book and highly thought provoking. A++++
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12 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- P B Hodgson
- 15-11-20
A must read for anyone wanting to understand being
A highly enjoyable book that lays bear the conflicts of doing science on a brain when the brain is the one doing the science, and many other fascinating mysteries of being, in a clear and eloquent way.
Exceptional
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10 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Whatever
- 08-03-21
Disappointing ... poor narrator spoils great book!
A great book from a great mind ... but absolutely ruined by an appalling narrator !
Not only does the narrator's diction make it difficult to listen to ... his inexpressive and monotonous drone sounds like a computer-synthesised voice.
The narrator clearly isn't grasping what he's reading in real-time - and this failure to understand leaves him unable to infuse what's written with any kind of conversational expressiveness or tone.
I downloaded this audio-book because the written work is pretty dense and with the greatest respect to Dr. McGilchrist, a little impenetrable due to the convoluted writing style, lengthy sentences and small page font ... so, rather than making this great work more accessible, the audiobook makes things worse.
Extremely disappointing !
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Michael Noone
- 04-12-20
Great book on the evolution of our brain
Very deep and insightful. I painted the house in lockdown with it on audiobooks as I didn't believe I could read it slowly over days and keep the concentration on the subject as a whole. Odd part a little dull, otherwise exceptional book introducing why the brain does what, where it does it, and why. Very comprehensive.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Luke Maxfield
- 06-03-21
really compelling
the book is great. felt like it addressed questions that I didn't realise I'd been asking all along. it has changed the way I think about language/music/philosophy and many other aspects of life!
the earlier more scientific chapters are quite long but worth it so don't give up!
wouldn't recommend relying on the audio version alone though, as it is complex at times so having the physical copy can help revisit earlier passages.
I listened to the audiobook while following along with the physical copy
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 07-04-21
World-Altering
The best non-fiction book I've ever read, hands down. Will change the way you see the world and yourself.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. T. L. Peel
- 16-12-20
Excellent, with many ah-ha! Moments
An amazing book that will stay with me for my life.
Note on the narration (and possibly the complexity of the information) I had to listen on 0.8 speed as I found it too fast, not least the pauses between headings seemed to quickly blend into the content...
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 06-12-20
A fascinating book, but poor narration
The narration is monotone, making the complex material impenetrable. But the printed book, this audiobook is unusable.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- mjk
- 08-02-22
THE MOST INTERESTING AUDIOBOOK I'VE EVER HEARD.
I was daunted before starting Dr McGilchrist's tome, due to the sheer length and breadth of this book.
I needen't have worried.
By far the most interesting and absorbing audiobook I have ever had the pleasure to listen to.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Nikos
- 08-04-20
Highly informative
It's a highly informative book. Even though I don't 100% agree with everything said, I feel it helped me make a shift in the way I look at things
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 09-12-22
This book is just wonderful.
A fascinating exploration of neurobiology, cognitive science, philosophy, history, psychology, learning. one of the best books I've read in years.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Adail Retamal
- 10-05-22
Probably the most relevant research of our times!
Dr. McGilchrist calls it “The Hemispheres Hypothesis”, but I think it’s out of humbleness. His meticulous and careful research shades so much light on vast areas of human history, psychology, art, philosophy, and even in modern technology and engineering. This and his newest book, “The Matter with Things”, should be mandatory reading in all college courses in any area. Do yourself a favor and read them!
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