We discussed the first of three lectures by Iain McGilchrist: from the Sophia Lectures at https://channelmcgilchrist.com/the-sophia-lectures-with-dr-iain-mcgilchrist-lecture-1-division-and-union/ The word ‘cosmos’ implies a beautiful and harmonious whole. For at least the last 300 years, and arguably much longer in the Western world, we have come to see the universe as at best a mechanism, if not a mere agglomeration of material bits and pieces, without intrinsic order, purpose, or meaning.  Its wholeness has been lost, and with it our capacity to understand ourselves in relation to that whole.  This follows an exaggerated tendency to use our analytic, and therefore naturally fragmenting, faculty to the exclusion of our capacity to see complex wholes, and above all to understand the profoundly relational nature of all that exists.  This tension arises because of the necessary evolutionary specialisations of the two cerebral hemispheres, a tension which can and should be fruitful; we need harmony between both ways of being in the world if we are to flourish.  In the absence of that harmony, the harmony that brings depth to life, the world is drained of its meaning.  But crucially, though each hemisphere plays a role, they are not of equal import. There was wide ranging discussion, including surmise about McGilchrist’s marital status. [OK: he was married:"After living for years in South London, McGilchrist came across his current home, Talisker House, whilst on a trip with his then wife to explore Skye. https://www.themasterbetrayed.com/   He has two daughters and a son, and now grandchildren. ]