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SUMMARY:A Revolution in Thought?  How hemisphere theory helps us understan
 d the metacrisis - Dr Iain McGilchrist
DTSTART:20240209T173000Z
DTEND:20240209T183000Z
UID:TALK205834@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Janet Gibson
DESCRIPTION:It is often remarked that though it may seem that we face nume
 rous global crises of different kinds – environmental\, social\, politic
 al\, cultural\, economic\, psychological\, and so on – these crises are 
 interrelated. The term ‘metacrisis’ has been invented to describe this
  predicament. However these crises are not merely adventitiously interrela
 ted because each has an impact on and reinforces each of the others – th
 ough that may be true - but because they share roots at a deeper level in 
 a way of thinking about ourselves and the world.  What are these roots?  H
 emisphere theory\, deeply grounded as it is in Darwinism and subsequent ne
 uroscientific research\, shows us that a new\, far more complex\, and more
  nuanced\, appraisal of the bipartite brain – the product of the last 30
  years of research – brings new insights into the human condition. There
  are vitally important clues to the understanding of human cognition and m
 otivation embodied in the structure of the brain.  These clues help explai
 n why certain apparently unrelated phenomena tend to occur together\, why 
 outcomes that appear paradoxical are in reality predictable\, and why many
  attempts to remedy them will prove inadequate since they are tackling onl
 y the manifestations of a problem that we need to address at its root – 
 both in the psyche of the individual and that of a civilisation viewed as 
 a whole.  ‘Know thyself’ commanded the Delphian oracle: we need urgent
 ly to learn to do so\, and this synergy of philosophy and neuroscience app
 ears to offer the most promising way.\n\nDr Iain McGilchrist is a Quondam 
 Fellow of All Souls College\, Oxford\, an Associate  Fellow of Green Templ
 eton College\, Oxford\, a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists\, a
  Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts\, and former Consultant Psychiatrist 
 and Clinical Director at the Bethlem Royal & Maudsley Hospital\, London.  
 He has been a Research Fellow in neuroimaging at Johns Hopkins Hospital\, 
 Baltimore and a Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Studies in Stellenbosc
 h.  He has published original articles and research papers in a wide range
  of publications on topics in literature\, philosophy\, medicine and psych
 iatry.  He is the author of a number of books\, but is best-known for The 
 Master and his Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western W
 orld (Yale 2009)\; and his book on neuroscience\, epistemology and ontolog
 y called The Matter with Things: Our Brains\, Our Delusions and the Unmaki
 ng of the World (Perspectiva 2021).  He has two daughters and a son\, and 
 lives on the Isle of Skye.
LOCATION:Lady Mitchell Hall\, Sidgwick Avenue
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