Determined
by Robert M. Sapolsky · first published 2023
39% recommend57% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Argues that free will does not exist, drawing on neuroscience, biology and behavioral science. It is a follow-up to the author's earlier book Behave and speaks to the free will debate.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Biologically-based arguments for determinism and against free will, and what the other side of that rainbow looks like.
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Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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Robert Sapolsky has a new book on free will, Determined[0], and he's doing lots of podcasts[1] about it. I started with Origins[2]. [0] https://www.amazon.com/Determined-Science-Life-without-Free/... [1] https://www.listennotes.com/search/?q=robert%20sapolsky&sort... [2]…
on “Can you use your "free will"? Try your hand” ↗Probably not much if any “free will”… Check out “Determined” by Robert Sapolsky [0] [0] https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/592344/determined-b...
on “You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it” ↗I highly recommend reading "Determined" by Robert Sapolsky.
on “Is Free Will just a beautiful lie?” ↗…a listener to be able to see every speakers biases up front! Horrific privacy implications though, particularly since we aren't really in control of our thoughts[1]. [1] Robert Sapolsky's new book "Determined" is absolutely incredible, and I highly recommend it
on “Exploring GPTs: ChatGPT in a trench coat?” ↗Determined: Life Without Free Will by Robert Sapolsky. He's a Stanford biologist/neuroscientist. You may have come across lectures from his class on Human Behavioral Biology which is on Youtube for free and highly…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2023 and recommend for 2024” ↗Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will by Robert Sapolsky It picks up where "Behave" left off.
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2023 and recommend for 2024” ↗I think you would like ‘Determined’ by Robert Sapolsky (mentioned in the article), an endocrine neurobiologist and ethologist. He talks about predeterminism from a biological point of view, as well as implications on responsibility and…
on “Does quantum theory imply the entire Universe is preordained?” ↗I don’t believe in free will either. You might like Determined by Robert Sapolsky. That said there’s a difference between a CPU executing a static program, and a human with self modifiable programming and actual existential parameters. Is a computer with a survival…
on “Insects and other animals have consciousness” ↗Sapolsky wrote a 500 page rebuttal to this idea in Determined. It is quite a convincing book and maybe even a dangerous book in a sense.
on “Do AI companies work?” ↗> any hopes for a human society that place reason above emotion are fundamentally unachievable If you haven't read it, you may enjoy Robert Sapolsky's "Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will". I haven't yet finished it (only halfway through the book) but I found it a very fascinating read so far, no matter whenever one agrees with the conclusions or not.…
on “The Curse of Ayn Rand's Heir” ↗…brains are deterministic. This is not my field at all so don't take my word for any of it, but I highly recommend people interested in this read or watch Robert Sapolsky's work. His books "Behave" and "Determined" are utterly fascinating and get very, very deep into this in a way that is challenging but understandable for a non-Neurologist.
on “The Polymarket users betting on when Jesus will return” ↗…level of physics. Measuring subconscious areas of the brain also demonstrates that "choices" we make aren't as made-by-our-consciousness as we think. Robert Sapolsky's books (especially "Behave" and "Determined" are phenomenal reads if this topic interests you. Now that said I don't think living your life as though you have no free will is a good life strategy. The illusion of free will is incredibly important.…
on “Show HN: Ten years of running every day, visualized” ↗…interesting, also check out his Behavioural Biology lecture series on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNnIGh9g6fA&list=PL848F2368C... His upcoming book can be found here - https://www.amazon.ca/Determined-Science-Life-without-Free/d...
on “Common infections can spark psychiatric illnesses in children” ↗I've been reading Determined by Robert Sapolsky. He mentions a study about the behavioral differences on average between peoples that come from rice-growing and wheat-growing regions of China. When two chairs were placed obstructively…
on “In Praise of Difficult Children (2009)” ↗Maybe you’ve read this already (I still have it in my stack to read so can’t give any personal review) but ‘Determined’ by Robert Sapolsky sets the argument that we don’t have free will and that the justice system is flawed because of that. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2398369-why-free-will-d...
on “Is the emergence of life an expected phase transition in the evolving universe?” ↗