Iain McGilchrist writes in The Matter with Things that we no longer live in the presence of the world, but in a re-presentation of it.1 He finds it fascinating that we don’t have a verb to describe the experience of the encounter with reality.2 To ‘presence‘ is not the same thing as to ‘be present’, or worse, to ‘be re-presented’.3 McGilchrist writes
…all that is to be known must initially ‘presence‘ to the right hemisphere…; then be transferred to the left hemisphere so as to gain expression through re-presentation; and that re-presentation returned to the right hemisphere where it is either recognised for its consonance with the initial presencing into a new Gestalt, or rejected.4
All of this relies on a proper balance between the left and right hemispheres.
| The Left Hemisphere | The Right Hemisphere |
|---|---|
| Shapes according to fixed patterns. | Defies all limitations. |
| Defines, specifies, sets measure and limit, places life into an exact system. | Deals with ineffable relations. |
| Deals with details separately. | Deals with the whole of life. |
| Deals with rules and law. | Deals with the meaning of rules and law. |
| Dels with what can be expressed literally. | Introduces what lies beyond expression. |
| Teaches how to perform common acts. | Tells how to participate in life. |
| Gives knowledge. | Gives aspiration. |
| Gives norms for action. | Gives vision of living. |
| Prescribes. | Suggests. |
| Decrees. | Inspires. |
| Is definite. | Is allusive. |
| Thinks in terms of quantity. | Thinks in terms of quality. |
| Speaks of the estimable and measurable. | Deals with the immeasurable. |
| Informs how much must be performed. | Tells how to think and feel, rather than how much. |
Notes:
1. Iain McGilchrist, The Matter with Things, p. 16.
2. Ibid., p. 566.
3. Ibid..
4. Ibid., p. 1897.
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