Not Ignorance, but the ignorance of ignorance is the death of knowledge…

Dr. Ian McGilchrist is a renowned psychiatrist, writer, and former Oxford literary scholar and in the introduction to his book “The Master and his Emissary” he writes the following.

“There is a story in Nietzsche that goes something like this. There was once a wise spiritual master, who was the ruler of a small but prosperous domain, and who was known for his selfless devotion to his people. As his people flourished and grew in number, the bounds of this small domain spread; and with it the need to trust implicitly the emissaries he sent to ensure the safety of its ever more distant parts. It was not just that it was impossible for him personally to order all that needed to be dealt with: as he wisely saw, he needed to keep his distance from, and remain ignorant of, such concerns. And so he nurtured and trained carefully his emissaries, in order that they could be trusted. Eventually, however, his cleverest and most ambitious vizier, the one he most trusted to do his work, began to see himself as the master, and used his position to advance his own wealth and influence. He saw his master’s temperance and forbearance as weakness, not wisdom, and on his missions on the master’s behalf, adopted his mantle as his own – the emissary became contemptuous of his master. And so it came about that the master was usurped, the people were duped, the domain became a tyranny; and eventually it collapsed in ruins.”

His story resonates with us because it reflects a pattern we often see in organisations, relationships, and even our own thought processes.

As humans we have a tendency to think that we “know it all” and we can always do a better job than our boss..

McGilchrist highlights the story as his thesis for the book seeks to show how decades of his research have determined that the two hemispheres of our brain (left and right) appear to have a Master and Emissary type relationship.

The right hemisphere being the master and the left being the emissary.

Without delving into what is a considerable volume of work, I wanted to draw out an important point that you, the reader of this article, might consider and that might help you in your life, relationships and various roles.

It has to do with how we attend to the world…

Picture your knowledge and wisdom as a spiral staircase. Every time you circle back to a familiar idea, you’re actually one step higher than before, seeing it with more insight.

What can occur if we are not careful, is that we seem to view others (whether they be our boss, our parents or mentors) as being in the same place on this staircase as us because they can speak about similar things. What we do not know however, is that it is perhaps more likely that they have ascended and are on the spiral above us with a greater perspective.

As in the story at the beginning, if we attempt to take control of the kingdom without fully grasping the perspective of the higher levels, things do not end well.

As McGilchrist shows in great detail, even within our own skull, the left side of our brain believes itself to have the most accurate picture of the world and doesn’t value the wisdom or perspective of the right side.

McGilchrist demonstrates this to a great extent which I wont get into here, but what I will draw out is some practical ways that we can ensure we are using both perspectives as a partnership in our own thinking and attending (what we pay attention to) to the world.

Embracing open attention:

The right brain is responsible for sustained, broad, and vigilant attention. Rather than narrowly focusing on specific details (a left-hemisphere tendency), we should cultivate awareness of our surroundings, relationships, and the bigger picture. This can be done through mindfulness, spending time in nature, or simply being fully present in experiences.

Engaging with lived experience, not just abstractions:

The right hemisphere is deeply connected to lived reality, while the left often abstracts, breaks things into parts, and systematises. Engaging directly with people, art, nature, and embodied experiences allows the right hemisphere to provide a richer, more integrated perspective.

Prioritising context over fragmentation:

The right hemisphere sees the world as interconnected and understands things in context. Instead of isolating facts or reducing problems to mechanistic solutions and assumptions (a left-hemisphere approach), we should seek patterns, relationships, and a sense of wholeness.

Trusting intuition and metaphor:

The right hemisphere is the seat of intuition, metaphor, and implicit understanding. McGilchrist argues that metaphor is essential for deep knowledge because it connects seemingly unrelated concepts in a meaningful way. Engaging with poetry, music, and storytelling can strengthen right-hemisphere thinking.

Cultivating an attitude of receptivity and humility:

The right hemisphere is more open to uncertainty and ambiguity, whereas the left seeks to categorise and control. To see the fullest picture possible, we should remain open to multiple perspectives, resist the urge to impose rigid frameworks and judgemental attitudes, and allow new insights to emerge.

Balancing left and right hemisphere functions:

McGilchrist doesn’t dismiss the left hemisphere but warns against its dominance. The goal is to use both hemispheres in their proper roles. The right hemisphere should take the lead in perceiving the world, while the left hemisphere refines and applies knowledge in specific contexts. In practice this could look like carving out time for divergent thinking before jumping to convergent thought processes like KPI’s and process flows.

?

Leaders who encourage open attention and divergent thinking, like pausing a meeting for impressions or feedback, often unlock more creativity and buy-in from their teams.

?

By cultivating these practices, McGilchrist suggests we can move toward a fuller, richer engagement with reality, one that acknowledges complexity, interconnectedness, and the living, dynamic nature of the world.

As well as this occurring within you as an individual, be curious how you might implement some of these strategies within your team, company or community to ensure that together, both the big picture and the details work towards ascending that spiral ladder to greater growth and insight.

?

Stay Curious!

Mark

?