Bøker av Robert M Sapolsky

Why do we do what we do? This book is at once a tour and a majestic synthesis of the whole science of human behaviour. Brought to life through engaging stories, it offers the fullest picture yet of the origins of tribalism and xenophobia, hierarchy and competition, morality and free will, war and peace.

How do we live without free will?The existence of free will - our ability to choose between one course of action and another, to determine our own destiny - is a foundation stone of western society, dictating our notions of fairness and justice, punishment and reward, our very identity as individuals and humans. But as world-renowned scientist Robert Sapolsky shows, there is not a shred of evidence to suggest that free will exists, even while everything in our biology leads us to believe that it does. Gathering together all of the scientific evidence available, Sapolsky first demonstrates conclusively that free will is a fabrication rather than a reality and then goes on to examine how it is that we live successfully and justly in its absence and asking what would happen if we were all to accept, once and for all, that everything we do has already been determined?A book of monumental scope and importance, Determined brings us face to face with a truth that is at once profoundly disturbing and liberating, with radical implications for every aspect of our lives.

One of the world's greatest scientists of human behaviour shows that free will does not exist - and challenges us to rethink the very notion of choice, identity, responsibility, justice, morality and how we live together.'One of the best scientist-writers of our time' Oliver SacksBehind every thought, action and experience there lies a chain of biological and environmental causes, stretching back from the moment a neuron fires to the dawn of our species and beyond. Nowhere in this infinite sequence is there a place where free will could play a role.Without free will, it makes no more sense to punish people for antisocial behaviour than it does to scold a car for breaking down. It is no one's fault they are poor or overweight or unsuccessful, nor do people deserve praise for their talent or hard work; 'grit' is a myth. This mechanistic view of human behaviour challenges our most powerful instincts, but history suggests that we have already made great strides toward it: where once we saw demonic possession or cowardice, for example, now we diagnose illness or trauma and offer help.Determined confronts us with our true nature: who and what we are is biology and nothing more. Disturbing and liberating in equal measure, it explores the far-reaching implications for society of accepting this reality. Monumentally difficult as it may be, the reward will be a far more just and humane world.

Book-smart and more than a little naive, Robert Sapolsky left the comforts of college in the US for a research project studying a troop of baboons in Kenya.

Described by Oliver Sacks as 'one of the best scientist-writers of our time', Robert M. Sapolsky here presents the human animal in all its quirkiness and diversity. In these remarkable essays, Sapolsky once again deploys his compassion and insights into the human condition to tell us who, why and how we are.