Chapter 24: Space and Matter

Space and Matter , titled "Space and Matter," from Iain McGilchrist's The Matter With Things, provides a profound synthesis of neuroscience, phenomenology, and quantum physics to re-evaluate our understanding of the physical world. The text challenges the Newtonian conception of space as a mere passive container, arguing instead that space is a dynamic, generative potential essential for the manifestation of form. Drawing on the Japanese concept of ma (negative space or betweenness) and the Buddhist notion of sunyata (emptiness as pregnant potential), the author illustrates how space functions as a relational field rather than a void. A central theme is the neurological difference in how the brain's hemispheres process spatial reality: the right hemisphere perceives depth, which allows for genuine relationship and the coexistence of connection and separation, while the left hemisphere reduces the world to static, flattened geometric maps and "views from nowhere". This distinction is applied to clinical observations of schizophrenia, where a loss of depth perception leads to a frightening, flattened reality that mirrors the superficiality found in certain aspects of Modernist art and culture. The chapter transitions into a detailed examination of modern physics, arguing that Quantum Field Theory supports the philosophical view that relationships are ontologically prior to the entities related. It posits that the fundamental building blocks of reality are not discrete particles but continuous fields, from which "particles" emerge as temporary, localized excitations. Furthermore, the text explores the nature of mass as a form of resistance within flow, and matter as condensed energy, referencing the equivalence of energy and mass. Finally, the discussion culminates in an analysis of asymmetry in the cosmos, asserting that life and creativity depend on symmetry-breaking (chirality), whereas perfect symmetry represents stasis and death. The author concludes that the right hemisphere’s capacity to integrate continuity with discreteness aligns more closely with the actual nature of the physical universe than the left hemisphere’s atomistic models.