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Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will

Written by:
Robert M. Sapolsky
Narrated by:
Kaleo Griffith
Price: $25.00 $12.50

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
10
Narrator
6
Release Date
October 17, 2023
Duration
13 hours 42 minutes
Summary
The instant New York Times bestseller

“Excellent…Outstanding for its breadth of research, the liveliness of the writing, and the depth of humanity it conveys.” – Wall Street Journal

One of our great behavioral scientists, the bestselling author of Behave, plumbs the depths of the science and philosophy of decision-making to mount a devastating case against free will, an argument with profound consequences

Robert Sapolsky’s Behave, his now classic account of why humans do good and why they do bad, pointed toward an unsettling conclusion: We may not grasp the precise marriage of nature and nurture that creates the physics and chemistry at the base of human behavior, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Now, in Determined, Sapolsky takes his argument all the way, mounting a brilliant (and in his inimitable way, delightful) full-frontal assault on the pleasant fantasy that there is some separate self telling our biology what to do.

Determined offers a marvelous synthesis of what we know about how consciousness works—the tight weave between reason and emotion and between stimulus and response in the moment and over a life. One by one, Sapolsky tackles all the major arguments for free will and takes them out, cutting a path through the thickets of chaos and complexity science and quantum physics, as well as touching ground on some of the wilder shores of philosophy. He shows us that the history of medicine is in no small part the history of learning that fewer and fewer things are somebody’s “fault”; for example, for centuries we thought seizures were a sign of demonic possession.

Yet, as he acknowledges, it’s very hard, and at times impossible, to uncouple from our zeal to judge others and to judge ourselves. Sapolsky applies the new understanding of life beyond free will to some of our most essential questions around punishment, morality, and living well together. By the end, Sapolsky argues that while living our daily lives recognizing that we have no free will is going to be monumentally difficult, doing so is not going to result in anarchy, pointlessness, and existential malaise. Instead, it will make for a much more humane world.


*This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF containing Tables, Charts, Diagrams, and Footnotes from the book.
Reviews
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Anonymous

Masterfully written with arguements on both sides of the free will debate. After reading it I am thoroughly convinced of Robert's arguement for free will not existing.

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Alisa A.

Should be taught in every classroom, maybe then our world will become a better place. Thanks to Robert Sapolsky for his work and ability to explain difficult concepts in simple and language.

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David D.

Absolutely amazing book!

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Kumara K.

Its indigestible fact where this knowledge has putting focus light on freewill chemistry of understanding behaviors. Has Greatly potent wisdom from scientific perspective to transform humanity.

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Ferdi E.

Food, much food for thinking… Wonderfully written by a wonderful and genius person. Great work that teaches us a lot about how our brain/mind works… This book is a gem that helps one thinking more and more nuanced and less judgmental about humans and the way they (we) behave… A must!

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