Motivation
Attention is a moral act: It creates, brings aspects of things into being.
Iain McGilchrist

Thursday, April 17, 2025
British psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and philosopher Iain McGilchrist contemplates the morality of attention in his 2009 book “The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World.” In his writing, he suggests the effects of attention are cyclical: The attention we give something affects how we perceive it, and vice versa. McGilchrist’s research in brain lateralization (i.e., how the left and right hemispheres of our brains each function) raises questions about how we choose to make sense of the world around us. Most notably, this quote serves as a stark reminder that our attention has the power to inform our inner and outer worlds, and we must wield that power wisely.
Advertisement
recommended articles

16 Helpful Quotes To Read When Your Relationship Is Struggling
Despite what Disney movies and other ideas of fairy-tale romance have tried to impart to us, all relationships go through...
Advertisement
More motivation inspiration