McGilchrist posits that consciousness is irreducible, primordial, and omnipresent, viewing it as a creative process rather than a static entity. He argues that matter is a phase of consciousness, and that consciousness and matter are distinct yet interrelated. He emphasizes the relational nature of consciousness, suggesting that it is always 'of' something, and critiques naive realism by asserting that we participate in knowing rather than observing an independent reality. McGilchrist also explores the relationship between the brain and consciousness, proposing that the brain structures and actualizes consciousness rather than originating it. His hemisphere hypothesis suggests that the brain's two hemispheres perceive the world in fundamentally different ways, with the right hemisphere associated with consciousness and the left with matter.

• Iain McGilchrist