Brain asymmetry: the facts and why they matter
British Academy Lecture Series: Brain asymmetry: the facts and why they matter’ with Dr Iain McGilchrist
The British Academy Lectures
Date: Thursday 22 October 2026
Time: 18:30 - 19:45
Venue: Sir Charles Wilson
Category: Public lectures
Speaker: Dr Iain McGilchrist
About the event
Across the animal kingdom, brain asymmetry is the rule rather than the exception. From our hominid ancestors to birds, fish, and reptiles, every creature with a brain exhibits striking differences in how its two hemispheres are structured and how they function.
Yet the fundamental question remains: why?
Many long-held assumptions about lateralisation have proven mistaken. This lecture explores the evolutionary origins of the divided brain, the distinct purposes each hemisphere serves, and how this fundamental asymmetry shapes the way human beings understand themselves and perceive the world around them.
Speaker
Dr Iain McGilchrist is a former Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is the author of The Master and his Emissary, and The Matter with Things.
Please Note: A drinks reception will take place in the Foyer after the event from 7.45pm.
Image credit: Barbey AK, Colom R, Paul EJ et al, ‘Architecture of fluid intelligence and working memory revealed by lesion mapping’, Brain Structure and Function, 2014, 219(2), 485–94 (reproduced in The Matter with Things).