Lawyers should be more right-brained? Another journey into the simplistic world of left brain versus right brain

The dichotomy of the left and the right brain seems firmly entrenched in pop psychology. It got a real boost by the presentations and writing of Jill Bolte Taylor , about whom I have written critically in the past here and here .

Reverence for a simplistic notion of the right brain has recently appeared in the Oregon State Bar Bulletin. Although the article makes some good points about possible shortcomings of the way some lawyers approach problems and people, the discussion of the brain dichotomy lessens the author's credibility. The article would have been much improved by her leaving those references out.

From " Do What's Right: The Secrets of Success ":

In the headline to this article the word right has a dual meaning. There is the moral sense of right as used by Thane Rosenbaum in The Myth of Moral Justice: Why Our Legal System Fails to Do What’s Right. Then there is the right brain, with its feeling and emotion, and all its relational, artistic, creative and spiritual qualities. The two meanings are related. By incorporating more of the right brain’s emotional intelligence and heart into our rational left-brain system of law, we can supply the moral and emotional components that have been missing. We can become more professional. We can become happier and more successful. We can do what’s right.