Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will | Robert M. Sapolsky

In his best-selling book Behave, Dr. Robert Sapolsky argued that while we may not grasp the precise marriage of nature and nurture that creates the physics and chemistry at the base of human behavior, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Out of this comes a perspective that as biological organisms, we have far less free will than we usually assume.

Join us with Dr. Robert M. Sapolsky, the acclaimed author, stress expert, biologist, and neuroscientist. His latest book, Determined, plumbs the depths of the science and philosophy of decision-making to mount a devastating case against free will, an argument with profound consequences. Sapolsky applies the new understanding of life beyond free will to some of our most essential questions around punishment, morality, and living well together.

Dr. Robert M. Sapolsky is the best-selling author of several works of nonfiction, including A Primate’s Memoir, The Trouble with Testosterone, and Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers. Dr. Sapolsky is a MacArthur “Genius” Fellow; a professor of biology, neurology, and neurosurgery at Stanford University; and a research associate at the National Museum of Kenya. He lectures on topics as diverse as stress and stress-related diseases, biology and the free will debate, the biology of our individuality, the biology of religious belief, depression, memory, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s disease.