[Cooper North]

Hi James,

Thank you for your response! I’m in agreement with you: the arrogance & self-confidence in the critique was truly alarming. His personal digs at Iain for “idealizing the past” (which, I’ve noticed, Iain certainly does not), combined with his lazy attempt at picking apart Iain’s defense of intuition (Iain has never claimed intuition is infallible, rather it’s grossly underrated), all while calling the work “bad” and even, “dangerous,” had me shocked & amused. Finally, given his absolute and total rejection of metaphysics as whole, it seems Ellis, in typical left-hemisphere-fashion, demonizes… ironically… the left hemisphere.

Elllis writes, “metaphysics is a distinctively deluded left hemisphere construction, yet McGilchrist fails to face up to this contradiction. As a result, a large part of this book is self-deluded and contradictory.” I can theoretically see the thought process behind his conclusion, but it seems to me that Ellis missed the point: Iain’s metaphysics is born out of how the right hemisphere attends to the world… and then, Iain recruits the left hemisphere to communicate and articulate this view (in the form of the book), much like a good emissary serving his master.

But this is how it appears to me. I’m well-aware I am amidst far, far greater minds than my own here at Channel McGilchrist, so I’m eager to get more opinions and perspectives!

Very best,

Cooper