Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will
- Downloads：1039
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-10-23 00:21:19
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Robert M. Sapolsky
- ISBN：B0BVNSX4CQ
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Kailuo Wang
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The main lesson is that no matter how brilliant you are， avoid writing a book on a subject that you haven't studied for years。 Sapolsky defined free will as the existence of a neuron free from physical laws。 Of course this is contradictory to the naturalist belief that the whole universe is given by physical laws。 But when people talk about free will， they mean different things， while the definition Sapolsky gave， upon some philosophical inspection， has no practical implications and thus is usel The main lesson is that no matter how brilliant you are， avoid writing a book on a subject that you haven't studied for years。 Sapolsky defined free will as the existence of a neuron free from physical laws。 Of course this is contradictory to the naturalist belief that the whole universe is given by physical laws。 But when people talk about free will， they mean different things， while the definition Sapolsky gave， upon some philosophical inspection， has no practical implications and thus is useless or meaningless to discuss。 One simply cannot derive any practical guidance based on the non existence of the "free will" as defined by Sapolsky。 To be more specific when we talk about morality we do not need to be concerned with whether naturalism is real， whether something free from physical laws exists。 Sapolsky should have noticed that there is so much linguistic nuance and complexity in the notion of "free will" that it justifies more study into the existing philosophical discussion in this area especially post WWII。 。。。more
Keven Wang
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Excellent range of discussion topics
Thales
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I am a big fan of him。 I've watched many of his videos on Youtube， including his lectures。 This book tries to answer the question I always ask myself。 Does free will exist？ The short answer is no， free will does not exist。 We live in a deterministic universe and quantum mechanics does not imply free will。 I haven't finished reading this book yet， but it has been a fun and entertaining read。 I feel like he's talking in a podcast or on Youtube。 This book is relatively long， and it's "turtles all t I am a big fan of him。 I've watched many of his videos on Youtube， including his lectures。 This book tries to answer the question I always ask myself。 Does free will exist？ The short answer is no， free will does not exist。 We live in a deterministic universe and quantum mechanics does not imply free will。 I haven't finished reading this book yet， but it has been a fun and entertaining read。 I feel like he's talking in a podcast or on Youtube。 This book is relatively long， and it's "turtles all the way down" haha。 。。。more
Bm
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Sapolsky lays out a foolproof argument。 By definition a biological or scientific mechanism for free will can never be discovered， because any casual physical mechanism by definition is not "free" but rather caused by some mechanism; so， of course no neuron network generating free will can ever be found。 Sapolsky lays out a foolproof argument。 By definition a biological or scientific mechanism for free will can never be discovered， because any casual physical mechanism by definition is not "free" but rather caused by some mechanism; so， of course no neuron network generating free will can ever be found。 。。。more
Korpivaara Toni
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Tremendously complicated and complex topic！ I just began， first by skimming the book， and now reading。 ‘Determined’ is already groundbreaking。 Sapolsky makes a convincing argument for an idea that will be unacceptable to most who encounter it， but liberating for those who find a way to wield it。 How you’ll react to Sapolsky’s message is probably already determined。 How else could it be？
Maher Razouk
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تخيل حفل تخرج في الجامعة。 على الرغم من التفاهات والتقليدية والأسلوب الهابط ، يوجد أيضا بعض السعادة، الفخر。 العائلات التي تبدو تضحياتها الآن تستحق كل هذا العناء。 الخريجون الذين كانوا أول من أنهى دراستهم الثانوية في أسرهم。 أولئك الذين يجلس آباؤهم المهاجرون هناك متوهجين معلنين أن اعتزازهم بالحاضر ليس على حساب اعتزازهم بماضيهم。ثم تلاحظ شخصا ما。 وسط التجمعات العائلية بعد الحفل، الخريجون الجدد يلتقطون الصور مع الجدة على كرسيها المتحرك، واندفاعات العناق والضحك، ترى الشخص في الخلف، الشخص الذي هو جزء من تخيل حفل تخرج في الجامعة。 على الرغم من التفاهات والتقليدية والأسلوب الهابط ، يوجد أيضا بعض السعادة، الفخر。 العائلات التي تبدو تضحياتها الآن تستحق كل هذا العناء。 الخريجون الذين كانوا أول من أنهى دراستهم الثانوية في أسرهم。 أولئك الذين يجلس آباؤهم المهاجرون هناك متوهجين معلنين أن اعتزازهم بالحاضر ليس على حساب اعتزازهم بماضيهم。ثم تلاحظ شخصا ما。 وسط التجمعات العائلية بعد الحفل، الخريجون الجدد يلتقطون الصور مع الجدة على كرسيها المتحرك، واندفاعات العناق والضحك، ترى الشخص في الخلف، الشخص الذي هو جزء من الطاقم، يجمع القمامة على هامش الحدث。اختر أي من الخريجين بشكل عشوائي。 قم ببعض السحر حتى يبدأ جامع القمامة حياته بجينات الخريج。 وبالمثل بالنسبة للحصول على الرحم الذي أمضى فيه تسعة أشهر والعواقب اللاجينية المترتبة على ذلك مدى الحياة。 احصل على طفولة الخريج أيضًا - طفولة مليئة، على سبيل المثال، بدروس العزف على البيانو وليالي الألعاب العائلية، بدلاً من التهديد بالذهاب إلى الفراش جائعًا، أو التشرد، أو الترحيل بسبب نقص الأوراق。 دعونا نسير على طول الطريق بحيث، بالإضافة إلى أن جامع القمامة قد حصل على كل ماضي الخريج، فإن الخريج قد حصل على ماضي جامع القمامة。 قم بتبديل كل العوامل التي ليس لديهم سيطرة عليها، وسوف تحصل على جامع القمامة في رداء التخرج والخريج في رداء جمع القمامة 。 وهذا ما أعنيه بالحتمية。ولماذا يهم هذا؟لأننا نعلم جميعًا أن الخريج وجامع القمامة سيتبادلان الأماكن。 ولأننا، رغم ذلك، نادرًا ما نتأمل في هذا النوع من الحقائق؛ نهنئ الخريج على كل ما أنجزه ونبتعد عن طريق رجل القمامة دون أن نلقي نظرة عليه。。Robert SapolskyDeterminedTranslated By #Maher_Razouk 。。。more
Tom Szakal
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30 years ago， chaos theory was trying to tell us that a squirrel sneezing in the Midwest could cause a La Nina in the Pacific Northwest。 Now this guy wants to tell us that whether we turn right or left has already been predetermined。 I'm tired of this scientific extremism。 The average person has less free will then he or she may think。 Maybe he should explain that。 Instead， this guy works in Academia， lives in California， and does research on baboons。 I'm sorry， this guy doesn't have a clue。 （or 30 years ago， chaos theory was trying to tell us that a squirrel sneezing in the Midwest could cause a La Nina in the Pacific Northwest。 Now this guy wants to tell us that whether we turn right or left has already been predetermined。 I'm tired of this scientific extremism。 The average person has less free will then he or she may think。 Maybe he should explain that。 Instead， this guy works in Academia， lives in California， and does research on baboons。 I'm sorry， this guy doesn't have a clue。 （or so it may seem） My best example on free will is his choice to write this book and take the public's money instead of presenting his research in scientific journals and face scientific and philosphical scrutiny。 （BTW， his theories are not accepted in the the philosophical or scientific communities） Milking the public is a choice。 Use your free will and go back to the baboons。 。。。more
Sara
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This is a very technical book， yet Sapolsky made a considerable effort to break it down for the average reader。 I have a bachelor's in Psychology and have read Dennett and some of the other authors Sapolsky mentioned， so many of the experiments mentioned were familiar to me already， and I have given a fair amount of thought to the free will debate in my personal life。 He's good at timing his jokes to keep you interested when things get dense。 Once， he even tells you to just skip an entire paragr This is a very technical book， yet Sapolsky made a considerable effort to break it down for the average reader。 I have a bachelor's in Psychology and have read Dennett and some of the other authors Sapolsky mentioned， so many of the experiments mentioned were familiar to me already， and I have given a fair amount of thought to the free will debate in my personal life。 He's good at timing his jokes to keep you interested when things get dense。 Once， he even tells you to just skip an entire paragraph and come back to it later if you need it， which was great （I had no idea what that paragraph meant， anyway）。 I can't speak to the science of the book， as to its accuracy or the methodology of the experiments。 As a casual reader， however， I don't think it matters a whole lot whether or not his argument is "correct。" What matters is how we respond to it。 I actually would have loved a few more chapters at the end on this part of the argument （what do we do if there's no free will？） because I felt like that was the strongest part of the book。 It leaves you questioning whether any choices you make actually matter， but it also makes some important points about our criminal justice system that happen to be in line with my views: i。e。， punishment should be about protecting people from likely future harm， not retribution against the perpetrator。 In some cases， we punish too harshly， and in some not enough。 Jail time may not be the best punishment for some crimes， either。 Overall， it's a good introduction to the subject if you've never thought about it before。 It provides a positive view of Determinism， rather than a bleak diatribe about how nothing matters。 。。。more
carl
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Wait。 You're saying John Calvin was right？ What the hell am I supposed to with that？I've commented on this book before reading because hearing lectures and interviews on YouTube piqued my interest。When some unrelated physicists pointed out that if you're a materialist it's the most sensible conclusion。 After all the Big Bang begins the movement of all other particles。Those particles in a long 13 billion year chain brought us here。 The basic movement of particles are not only traceable they are p Wait。 You're saying John Calvin was right？ What the hell am I supposed to with that？I've commented on this book before reading because hearing lectures and interviews on YouTube piqued my interest。When some unrelated physicists pointed out that if you're a materialist it's the most sensible conclusion。 After all the Big Bang begins the movement of all other particles。Those particles in a long 13 billion year chain brought us here。 The basic movement of particles are not only traceable they are predictable。Our neurology， our body， is identical with us。 That neurology is driven by electrochemical processes。 The elements of 'electro' and 'chemical' are driven by molecules。 Those molecules are driven by atoms and in turn particles。That thought you just had has its roots in a 13 billion year old super expansion of particles。 One after another until now。After all where did that thought you just had come from？ Have you ever thought up a thought that wasn't already there to begin with？Probably going to be reading this book of his before the others。 In the meantime （that word suddenly seems an ominous pun） his lectures are well worth a listen。 。。。more
Nicolai Gamulea
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I'm a big fan of Sapolsky， but I fear he's about to publish a wrong thesis。 What he doesn't seem to get， imho， blinded as he is by physicalism， is that free will does exist - it's just that it exists not at a biological level of reality， but at a social one。 It comes with the self-ownership of a person， as delimited by its social identity， not by its skin。 Free will is a social construct， and it's a fundamental one for many other social constructs that our civilisation is made of。 I'm a big fan of Sapolsky， but I fear he's about to publish a wrong thesis。 What he doesn't seem to get， imho， blinded as he is by physicalism， is that free will does exist - it's just that it exists not at a biological level of reality， but at a social one。 It comes with the self-ownership of a person， as delimited by its social identity， not by its skin。 Free will is a social construct， and it's a fundamental one for many other social constructs that our civilisation is made of。 。。。more
Nikita
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Amazing and wonderful
Isaac
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