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2 responses to “Humanity Unfolding: Where I Differ with Pope Leo XIV on the Human Person and AI”

1. 

   11 July 2026

   Brian Bright

   In the first comment following this Substack article by Ilia Delio Paul Hope reflects on the teaching of Gregory of Nyssa and applies this to Pope Leo’s encyclical and Illio’s article. Really thought provoking commentary.

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2. 

   17 July 2026

   pcasey

   The article has made me think along many new lines, and so I have learned much and am motivated to learn more. I am very appreciative. However, describing Magnifica Humanitas as ‘a document of the left hemisphere’ is highly contestable going on the evidence that has been available to me from the psychology texts and research articles that I have used for my psychology class for many years. The case can stand without it.

   In summary, there is a strong case that it is an exaggeration to claim that the right and left hemispheres are specialized to handle different kinds of cognitive tasks. There is evidence that the left handles verbal tasks while the right manages non-verbal tasks (e.g., spatial problems and art), but (a) only to a degree, with the effects being modest; (b) most tasks use both hemispheres to some extent; and (c) people differ in their patterns of cerebralization. Quoting from the Lilienfeld et al. text (Psychology: From Inquiry to Understanding, 2019, p. 106), ‘Just as multiple brain regions contribute to every psychological function, individual brain areas contribute to multiple psychological functions.’

   In conclusion, the evidence available to me is that a simplistic right-brained vs left-brained view is not grounded in our contemporary understanding of how the brain works. Critics of McGilchrist point out that almost every cognitive function requires both hemispheres working together.

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