We hope you are keeping well. In this week’s newsletter there is a reminder about the upcoming Beyond the Brain event, recent coverage in the news where Iain’s work is mentioned, a brilliant article from the ‘Free Articles’ section on Channel McGilchrist as well as an update about discussions, zoom calls and Dr McGilchrist’s recent Q&A in the member’s area.
Online Event – Beyond the Brain 6-8th November 2020
Dr McGilchrist will be taking part in the Beyond the Brain event in November, which marks the event’s 25th anniversary. Beyond the Brain is the world’s premier conference series exploring new research on whether and how consciousness and mind extend beyond the physical brain and body. The speakers taking part are all at the cutting edges of their fields and will be discussing innovative research strategies to probe the nature of consciousness. You will gain a vital overview and a deeper understanding of how consciousness research is expanding the horizons of science. Click here for more information and to book your ticket.
Author Philip Pullman
Author of His Dark Materials and other great novels, Philip Pullman recently discussed his inspiration for his writing; William Blake and Dr Iain McGilchrist.
“Imagination, as Pantalaimon understands, is not just a superficial facility for making things up. It’s much deeper, much more complex and mysterious than that, and it involves the whole of our being. A good deal of my own thinking about the imagination has been illuminated by William Blake, of course, and also by Iain McGilchrist’s inexhaustible book The Master and His Emissary, which explores the profound difference between the left and right halves of the brain.”
Read full article
An Introduction to the Hemispheres lectures
You can now watch/listen to two illustrated lectures Dr McGilchrist has recorded “An Introduction to the Hemispheres” which take you through a brilliant overview of the entire book, The Master and His Emissary.
New York Times
Dr McGilchrist was recently quoted in this article which focuses on the work of Helena Norberg-Hodge and asks whether going local and diverse is better than global and networked:
“Whether or not our civilization survives, Helena’s work is of prime importance,” said Dr. McGilchrist, whose groundbreaking 2009 book, “The Master and His Emissary,” argued that each half of the brain generates a fundamentally different way of experiencing the world. “Encouraging local communities is a vital antidote to universal globalism.”
“And if civilization should break down,” he added, “it will be our only hope for survival. We need to be acting on her ideas now.”
You can read the full article here.
Article on Attention
The ‘Free Articles’ section on Channel McGilchrist shares articles written by others and we have a selection of brilliant new ones soon to be posted on the Channel. Dan Nixon’s article here, focuses on the nature of attention.
Attention is not a resource but a way of being alive to the world by Dan Nixon
This article was originally published at Aeon. Dan Nixon is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The Sunday Times, The Economist and The Guardian, among others. He also leads Perspectiva’s initiative into the workings of the attention economy and is a senior researcher at The Mindfulness Initiative. He lives in London.
‘We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom.’ Those were the words of the American biologist E O Wilson at the turn of the century. Fast forward to the smartphone era, and it’s easy to believe that our mental lives are now more fragmentary and scattered than ever. The ‘attention economy’ is a phrase that’s often used to make sense of what’s going on: it puts our attention as a limited resource at the centre of the informational ecosystem, with our various alerts and notifications locked in a constant battle to capture it.
You can read the full article here.
Questions from Members and zoom call on Education
The monthly Q&A in the member’s area of Channel McGilchrist continues to offer some fascinating questions for Dr McGilchrist to consider. Having just recorded the fourth monthly Q&A, one of the questions he addressed was; “What will it take to save the world from the emissary and restore the master to his rightful position?”.
On Thursday 15th October, we hosted our second Zoom call for members from around the world where we discussed education and how and what could be encouraged to help children and adults alike to have a broader, more embodied learning experience. Along with suggestions of mindfulness, cooking and gardening were ideas about re-introducing philosophy as a form of enquiry and not just a concept. Another call will be scheduled for November/December. If you are interested in finding out about membership you can read more here.
Thank you for reading,
The Channel McGilchrist team
