How is it that the right hemisphere relinquishes its role as master?

"Are there errors particular to the right hemisphere? Is it always willing for example and how is it that it relinquishes its role as master?"
A question from the last live Q&A session with Dr Iain McGilchrist and members of Channel McGilchrist.
The next live Q&A takes place on 2nd February 2023. To find out more about submitting a question go to channelmcgilchrist.com/home/.
To view the full Q&A session go to channelmcgilchrist.com/become...

[@guymurray5345]

We wouldnt be able to grieve if we couldn't relinquish the role as master in the rh. Grief asks something of us, it requires embodied connection with others to fully process. That level of vulnerability is soul bonding stuff - as a veteran I made 'brothers' through the moments we held one another in mourning. These bonds are some of the most powerful ones that I have made. But I have learnt that if I can become 'as vulnerable' as the moments with others, I can find the same feeling of grace and love that has blossomed from those connections. Learning how to grieve is entirely right hemisphere stuff IMHO. I can now hold others and help them move through the same pain until we are co-regulating, until I can engage the ventral vagus pathway and ground them in the present moment; this is a surrender of my homeostatic balance with the knowledge that I wont enter the same despair; a surrender of self, a moment where one anothers central nervous systems imprint on each other; "I know how you feel" in the literal sense. Through grief I learnt to love in a whole new way. Its brought me into touch with both the divine and the material world.

[@tinychapter.]

Beautiful share, thank you.

[@johnmacgregor324]

Lovely. The Tao te Ching is likewise replete with references to the great becoming subservient to the small.

[@roderickdickson8924]

Happy New Year Dr McGilchrist! God Bless!

[@Alazsel]

Wow beautiful response to the question

[@michel-jeantailleur]

My left hemisphere wants to ask Iain a question but my right hemisphere thinks that paying to ask questions is not healthy. What do I do?

[@Boylieboyle]

When you say 'my left hemisphere', who's left hemisphere is it? Your right hemisphere's? An overseeing consciousness? Asking for a friend, money's in the post.

[@hawkarae]

Hemispheric civil war. All day. Me too 💗 I suspect we will have to turn back towards each other. We'll find our solutions solved like a hot knife through hubris, in the mirror of relationship. I think. 🤓

[@tracik1277]

Why don’t you try asking the question in this thread and see if anyone else can help you out for free? You never know.

[@michel-jeantailleur]

@@tracik1277 Trace, I was just being silly/flippant but, thinking about it, I suppose I would ask if laughter is a friendly hug between the two hemispheres. That your cat? Very cute.

[@SensemakingMartin]

Paying to ask questions of smart and wise and knowledgeable people sounds like an excellent way for philosophers to monetize something that until now has not being properly served by the market. I think it's a great system and positively healthy for all involved, especially the philosopher

[@LokeyeMC]

Ugh I can't believe I missed this. Fingers crossed there will be another.

[@user-vw6xp5nl6t]

My right hemisphere approves of this.

[@abcrane]

Project Integrity 0 seconds ago I agree with this assessment. I might add that competition in all its forms tends to put one in that left “unrealistic optimism” space and cooperation in that more actual real “right” space. Now, our entire commercial , educational, sexual-cultural and entertainment paradigm are based in exaggerated competition schemes. This is the key here- the winner, to win, has to create an ideal out of their self they must hold a fantasy of self as “best.” the cooperator must be more realistic and take in the opinions of others - of the whole group. They must be able to contextualize the situation. They must be humble and realistic not okay hero but simply contribute.

[@skynet4496]

Yep. In this past few years of Bullshit, It wasn't until I could understand the rationale of the wacky herd that I could feel comfortable with their chaos and ignorance. I needed to understand the other side before I felt whole.

[@dorcusmallorcus6450]

My question is whether the right hemisphere relinquishes anything, or the left takes anything. Rather that elements of the environment over the last 2 or 3 thousand years mean that the left hemisphere best answers the existential demands or stressors therein. The cohesive sense of a self begins way down in the brain stem, as stated in TMaHE. I reflect on Dunbar's number, which famously posits that the max number of relationships anyone can handle is 150. I think that is significant. I'm routinely surrounded by many, many more than that - we all are. And we mostly appear well habituated to it, of course. That does not make it nothing, much less good or entirely comfortable. Look at the Pirahã people. They have nothing but the forest and each other, but reportedly no stress, anxiety or depression. My thinking is that the import of the human talent for empathy and drive for connection is overwhelmed and the left hemisphere mode just can't switch off; the right hemisphere just cannot cope with all the input and remain engaged. FWIW whilst Julian Jaynes may have got some things wrong I think he mapped important changes that it would be helpful to have followed up.

[@bobbyboljaar7513]

Great insights, thanks for sharing!

[@dorcusmallorcus6450]

@@bobbyboljaar7513 Thanks

[@guymurray5345]

I would add that the part of the brain that is responsible for attempting to imagine oneself from the outside (through the eyes of others) and from the position of the Self (from the inside out) is located in the default mode network, this is known as mentalising. As a Veteran the ability to mentalise is most powerful when we are trained to move as a single unit in silence; there are few opportunities in my life where I have been able to replicate the flow state experienced in this context - it feels somewhat ecstatic, one of the very few things I miss about serving. My point is that mentalisation is really only useful when you are with a group of people doing the same things, things that dont require abstract thought, they are things of the present moment and involve movement. This forms a morohgenic field. A tribe will have a strong morphogenic field because of the low dunbar number and the primitive way of living, mentalisation is useful in this way. But when we break out of the dunbar number and enter the masses, one which is chronically dysregulated and stimulated, beyond hope of mass regulation, we cannot accurately predict the actions of others. So our ability to mentalise becomes obsolete. When you SMASH enough psychedelics, the DMN, the ego, dissolves, as does the ability to mentalise. What you have now is only your own thoughts. You can only use your senses in the present moment, with the company you are with. In the end you learn to surrender to your senses to the present moment - because trying to view the present moment through the perspective of the left and right hemispheres creates a sort of shizophrenia. You lose your mind this way. The surrender brings the hemispheres into a state of synchrony, or awareness of each perspective. Through the surrender you gain full access to the benefits of each hemisphere, you transcend the shadow of each hemisphere (see attachment styles). It becomes apparent that the words you have been using are ones of separation. Integration becomes a learning of a new language and a learning of the energy of the body, of self and of others. Learning not to mentalise in any given interaction is the path to manifesting love in your life; very difficult at first, the benefits of doing so unravel slowly, but with compound interest, this is the gradual quietening of the ego.

[@dorcusmallorcus6450]

@@guymurray5345 Many thanks for that response, and your other comment. There is a heck of a lot in there to process. My feeling is that there is no such thing as a solitary human, and ideally we should all be a part of a tight group with common aim and purpose. You're obviously on a whole other level with that. Peace. 🕊

[@skynet4496]

It's true that the brain can handle at most 200... But these days we don't need to trust people on word alone. For example, I didn't follow the authorities stupid advice on masks, testing, or the jab just because they're authority. I learned that the data is simple enough for me to analyze. In those tribes, they didn't have books or the internet to consult, thus needed to trust others perception of a situation. To continue to do that today even with data accessible to all is pure laziness and it explains why so many people fell for lies.

[@skynet4496]

If it could be self contained "wisdom" it would be no different than the left hemisphere which lacks the ability to know that skepticism exists. The skeptic is more open than the optimist to understand why there are blind believers.

[@bandaloop3759]

I think you should seriously consider Tony Wright's assessment of how our evolutionary biochemical environment weighs heavily on the current state of our brain. There is a very clear cut mechanism for inhibition of our own maturational hormones over the most critical periods of our brains evolution.

[@siyaindagulag.]

What an interesting question ! I venture to state: We oh-so-clever humans seem to hold great currency in the ex-,plicit. Much like a parent will feel great pride in their child who, on aquiring the skills allowing independence, courage , virtue ,strength ...and the like. It seems the Master, not unlike the worn-out parent, tires easily these days And may be glad of a well earned rest.... Well ! Up and at it lazy-bones , our work is not done. Not yet. *I'd best watch the vid now eh ?

[@leepretorius4869]

As I’m sure Christians have already said, the Trinity provides the explanation of a necessary and transcendent personal and relational being. This doctrine actually makes sense of the relational personhood you mention. However, since he is necessary, he does not need creation for relation. Instead, he provides a realm where others like Him can enjoy a personal relationship with Him and others.

[@chrisrandomcroberts8373]

Have you heard of this "Mastithesis Crebrum" The Right Lateral Hemisphere, Dominant half of the cerebrum,is the upper, front portion of the brain connected by the corpus callosum, which is a large bundle of nerve fibers. Is for visual and intuitive processing,immediate relationship with physical bodies (our own as well as others) and external reality as represented by the senses, a relationship that makes it the mediator, the first and last stop, of all experience. The dominant hemisphere within the brain, Is called the "Mastithesis Cerebrum".

[@gr8H8er]

Now explain the Alzheimer’s patient, silent for years suddenly lurching and falling to the floor, then saying to his two sons, in a voice they had not heard for years “No. Don’t call the grocer and page your mother. Allow her this time to simply shop. No need to rush her grief.” Who said those words? From where did they come?

[@mellonglass]

When folks say ‘hippy’. I can only think of a new sector of even more aggressive’Jungian’ banking system that played roulette on our vulnerabilities. There were different kinds of hippies that colonized.

[@kiljoy3254]

Jordan Peterson has basically been requested to undergo re-education by Canadian authorities. And I’m pretty sure a recent interview he had with Sky News Australia... and probably his discussion with Amala Ekpunobi (see especially around 31:00, I think that’s right) are major reasons for this. Some years ago I responded to video/interview in relation to child development; it was hosted by Vanessa Dylan, Director of The Divided Brain. I responded and made it clear that I think the number one cause for ‘mental illness’ (really bad conscience) is the Uncommitted Sex Game, among other thing, I quoted an article I quoted and article by Dalrock: “This is an unpopular truth, because the ability to open the bra is our new test for moral righteousness. There must be some mistake, since everyone knows players are easy to spot and obviously unattractive to women. But there is no mistake. So long as a woman is playing the uncommitted sex game, she is going to find herself seeking the best players of that game. The mistake is in pretending she wasn’t playing the uncommitted sex game in the first place, not in failing to identify a man who will play it better than she does.” Someone else (really a white knight) rather earnestly/self-righteously/patronisingly responded, indirectly, expressing his concerns and attendant desire to have my ‘free speech’ removed; and Vanessa wasted little time in assenting to this desire; unfortunately I didn’t check back to see how ‘successful’ she was in her Orwellian policing. The censoring of people... not least medical experts re Covid is truly shocking, and it’s little surprise people like Andrew Tate emerge. I want to know if Vanessa voted for Trudeau... I strongly suspect yes... also I’d like to know her views regarding this situation with Jordan Peterson. My youth was blighted by anomie... sure, I have my own moral failings but I’ve tried and tried and tried to highlight what is clearly the main problem... what I believe both Jordan Peterson and Andrew Tate are being persecuted for. Disgraceful!

[@skynet4496]

Jordan Peterson is a left brained guy as much as the leftists he criticizes. Mcgilchrist said this at the end, how the left hemisphere is dogmatic... Yes he is and so is the left that he calls out! He cannot see his own faults. That's why he got addicted to benzos and hid that from us by getting treated in Russia. We still found out. Don't get me started on Tate. He's not even honorable as a man, he sounds like the crazy feminists but for men. Equally absurd and ignorant.

[@kiljoy3254]

@@skynet4496 “Jordan Peterson is a left brained guy as much as the leftists he criticizes” That’s ridiculous! Iain McGilchrist’s Hemithesis (hemisphere hypothesis) is really about attention. “Attention is a moral act: it creates, brings aspects of things into being, but in doing so makes others recede. What a thing is depends on who is attending to it, and in what way. The fact that a place is special to some because of its great peace and beauty may, by that very fact, make it for another a resource to exploit, in such a way that its peace and beauty are destroyed. Attention has consequences.” “My thesis is that the hemispheres have complementary but conflicting tasks to fulfil, and need to maintain a high degree of mutual ignorance. At the same time they need to co-operate. How is this achieved, and what is their working relationship like? The corpus callosum, and the other subcortical structures, such as the cerebral commissures, which communicate between the hemispheres also have complementary but conflicting roles.They need to share information, but at the same time to keep the worlds where that information is handled separate.“ “If one thinks of the relationship between the hemispheres as being like that between the two hands of the pianist (whose two hemispheres do indeed have to co-operate, but equally must remain independent), one can see that the task of the corpus callosum has to be as much to do with inhibition of process as it is with facilitation of information transfer, and co-operation requires the correct balance to be maintained.” As I understand it, only the left hemisphere (the emissary) can go rogue, so to speak. Now, to speak in this way should probably set off alarm bells, (especially if you have a rogue LH that is anxious to discredit a theory that might thwart your will to power) however... “The image suggests, of course, that the two hemispheres have wills that may not always be in harmony. How legitimate is it to think of the hemispheres as having wills in this sense? Bogen refers to two ‘crucial facts’: that ‘it takes only one hemisphere to have a mind’, and that ‘hemispheres can sustain the activity of two separate spheres of consciousness following commissurotomy’. Sperry writes that, ‘in commissurotomy patients, each hemisphere can be shown to experience its own private sensations, percepts, thoughts, and memories that are inaccessible to awareness in the other hemisphere. Introspective verbal accounts from the vocal left hemisphere report a striking lack of awareness in this hemisphere for mental functions that have just been performed immediately before in the right hemisphere. In this respect each surgically disconnected hemisphere appears to have a mind of its own, but each cut off from, and oblivious to, conscious events in the partner hemisphere.’ And though this phenomenon is most pronounced in commissurotomy patients... wait for it... for people generally: “It turns out that one or other hemisphere may predominate - its particular cognitive and perceptual style as a whole more greatly influencing our experience of the world... ...We can even have, as personalities, characteristic and consistent biases towards one or other hemisphere, certainly for particular kinds of experience, associated with differing degrees of arousal and activation in either hemisphere. This phenomenon is known as ‘hemispheric utilisation bias’ or ‘characteristic perceptual asymmetry’.” Peterson, may have ‘characteristic perceptual asymmetry’ in some areas, from time to time... most of us probably do, but you’re resorting to to the LH besetting sin of our age: false equivalence, Big time!