Iain McGilchrist: How to escape left-brain thinking

Iain McGilchrist: How to escape left-brain thinking

From UnHerd with Freddie Sayers by UnHerd

April 12, 2026 · 1h 7m

About this episode

Freddie Sayers interviews Dr. Iain McGilchrist about the implications of left-brain dominance in modern society and the importance of myth and religion.

UnHerd's Freddie Sayers talks with neuroscientist and philosopher Dr. Iain McGilchrist about the psychological and cultural crisis resulting from our modern reliance on the brain's analytical left hemisphere, a perspective that views the world as a collection of inanimate parts rather than a living whole, while making a compelling case for the rehabilitation of myth and religious tradition as essential pathways to a deeper, relational truth that can protect Western civilisation from the dehumanising effects of purely mechanistic thinking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Freddie Sayers

Guest: Dr. Iain McGilchrist

Topics covered

  • neuroscience
  • philosophy
  • cultural crisis
  • left-brain thinking
  • myth
  • religion
  • mechanistic thinking

Keywords

  • neuroscience
  • left-brain
  • cultural crisis
  • myth
  • religion
  • mechanistic thinking
  • Iain McGilchrist

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: UnHerd

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