The Master and His Emissary

Revisited: Your Instincts Know What You Want with Happiness Expert Arthur Brooks

A Bit of Optimism, 6 October 2026. The book comes up at 31 min 46 sec in.

Arthur Brooks cites Ian McGilchrist's book on hemispheric lateralization to explain why meaning has declined among people under 35. He describes McGilchrist's thesis that the right hemisphere handles "why" questions and meaning while the left handles "how" and "what," and argues that modern life's efficiency-and-technology focus over-engages the left brain, cutting people off from the meaning-making right brain.

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