Iain McGilchrist: re-enchanting the brain

Can we re-enchant our view of the world by re-engaging a ‘right hemispheric’ view of life, love and faith?

Nick Jones

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

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Iain McGilchrist is a psychiatrist and philosopher, and author of the books The Master And His Emissary and The Matter With Things.

Iain’s thesis on the left and right hemispheres of the brain has been highly influential. He believes ‘left hemispheric’ thinking has come to dominate much of modern culture in negative ways.

He speaks with Belle and Justin about whether we can we re-enchant our view of the world by re-engaging a ‘right hemispheric’ view of life, love and faith.

Visit Iain McGilchrist's web site.

There’s more to life than the world we can see. Re-Enchanting is a podcast from Seen & Unseen recorded at Lambeth Palace Library, the home of the Centre for Cultural Witness. Justin Brierley and Belle Tindall engage faith and spirituality with leading figures in science, history, politics, art and education. Can our culture be re-enchanted by the vision of Christianity?

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Seen & Unseen Aloud

4 August 2025

1 min read

Portofino, neurodiversity, and McGovern's Unforgivable.

Poverty amid the privileged, the issue of over-diagnosing, and a difficult drama to watch.

Natalie Garrett

Natalie produces and narrates The Seen & Unseen Aloud podcast. She's an Anglican minister and a trained actor.

Portofino harbour.

Peter Thomas, via Unsplash.

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This week, George Pitcher takes us on our tour of the Portofino "bubble"; Henna Cundill has read Suzanne O'Sullivan's book and suggests we don't have an over-diagnosis problem, we have a society problem; and Henry Corbett describes Jimmy McGovern's brave storytelling in Unforgivable and asks whether there is such a thing as an unforgiveable sin.

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