Dr. Iain McGilchrist - The Divided Brain, Attention & Meaning
On this episode of The FitMind Podcast, psychiatrist and philosopher Dr. Iain McGilchrist shares how restoring balance between the brain’s hemispheres can expand awareness, deepen connection, and shift the way we perceive reality itself.
You can also listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other major podcast platform. Here it is in video format if you prefer:
Episode Overview
In this episode, psychiatrist and philosopher Iain McGilchrist examines how the divided brain influences our perception, relationships, and experience of reality. Drawing on decades of research, he explains that the brain’s hemispheres attend to the world in fundamentally different ways: the left narrows, analyzes, and abstracts, while the right takes in the whole—context, connection, and meaning.
We discuss how modern culture has become dominated by the left hemisphere’s perspective, leading to fragmentation, disconnection, and a loss of deeper understanding. McGilchrist argues that the right hemisphere offers a more truthful, embodied way of engaging with life, one that’s essential for balance, insight, and well-being.
The conversation weaves through neuroscience, language, morality, and consciousness. We explore how attention itself is a moral act, why some truths can’t be grasped through analysis alone, and how movement and relationality influence the way we think. McGilchrist also shares his thoughts on mirror neurons, the nature of the self, and his recent work with biologist Mike Levin on emergence and form.
This episode invites a rethinking of how we use our minds and how we might reclaim a more integrated, meaningful way of seeing the world.
P.S. — If you’re serious about starting or deepening your meditation practice, check out the FitMind meditation app.
Iain McGilchrist Bio
Dr. Iain McGilchrist is a psychiatrist, philosopher, and literary scholar best known for his groundbreaking work on the divided brain. A former Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, he originally taught English literature before retraining in medicine and specializing in psychiatry. His research has focused on the relationship between brain hemispheres and human meaning, culminating in the influential books The Master and His Emissary and The Matter with Things.
Dr. McGilchrist’s work bridges neuroscience, philosophy, and the humanities, offering a deep exploration of how the right and left hemispheres shape not just cognition, but our entire experience of reality. Through his writing and public speaking, he asks us to reconsider what it means to know, to attend, and to live a full human life.
You can learn more about his work at channelmcgilchrist.com.
Show Notes
0:00 | Intro to Iain McGilchrist
2:09 | Attention in Left & Right Brain
17:00 | How the Left Brain Came to Dominate
19:08 | Brain Hemispheres & Happiness
25:25 | Why Right Brain is the True Master
34:30 | Great Truths
5:19 | Morality of Attention
41:44 | Explaining Sacred
45:12 | Shortcomings of Language
51:28 | Distinct vs. Divided
56:20 | Balancing Brain Hemispheres
1:06:31 | Sense of Self & Relations
1:12:15 | Mirror Neurons
1:14:32 | Walking for Fluidity of Thought
1:23:34 | Consciousness Theory
1:31:07 | Water Analogy
1:35:52 | Work with Mike Levin
1:46:22 | Where to Follow His Work
Substack: https://iainmcgilchrist.substack.com/
Website: https://channelmcgilchrist.com