Robert M. Sapolsky is a professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University and the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation 'Genius Grant'. His previous books includes the international bestseller
Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst,
The Trouble with Testosterone, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers and
A Primate's Memoir.Robert Sapolsky explains why the latest developments in neuroscience and psychology explode our conventional idea of Free Will. The book's chock-full of complex and often counter-intuitive ideas. It's also a joy to read. That's because Sapolsky is not only one of the world's most brilliant scientists, but also an immensely gifted writer who tells this important story with wit and compassion. It's impossible to recommend this book too highly. Reading it could change your life.In his usual frank and amusing style, Robert Sapolsky argues that free will is an illusion. His stance is both hard to accept and hard to deny. An utterly fascinating topic with mind-boggling implications for human morality
PRAISE FOR BEHAVE
'Awe-inspiring . . . this is the best scientific book written for non-specialists that I have ever read. You will learn more about human nature than in any other book I can think of, and you will be inspired
It's no exaggeration to say that
Behave is one of the best nonfiction books I've ever read
Behave is the best detective story ever written, and the most important. If you've ever wondered why someone did something - good or bad, vicious or generous - you need to read this book. If you think you already know why people behave as they do, you need to read this book. In other words, everybody needs to read it. It should be available on prescription (side effects: chronic laughter; highly addictive). They should put
Behave in hotel rooms instead of the Bible: the world would be a much better, wiser placeMagisterial . . . Sapolsky makes the book consistently entertaining, with an infectious excitement at the puzzles he explains . . . a miraculous synthesis of scholarly domainsRarely does an almost 800-page book keep my attention from start to finish, but
Behave is exceptional in its scale, scope, detail and writing style . . . Sapolsky places what makes us special in the wider context of humans as animals with brains that are fundamentally similar to those of other species. It is the first book that does so comprehensively enough to qualify as a guide to human behaviourA miraculous book, by far the best treatment of violence, aggression, and competition ever. Its depth and breadth of scholarship are amazing, building on Sapolsky's own research and his vast knowledge of the neurobiology, genetic, and behavioral literature. All this is done brilliantly with a light and funny touch that shows why Sapolsky is recognized as one of the greatest teachers in science today'There is no part of the current craziness of the world this book does not touch, from terrorism and nationalism to nuclear posturing and ethnic cleansing . . . It is brilliant and insightful, lucid and conversational, authoritative, and fair to different points of view. It is the best guide I know of to the vicissitudes of human behaviour, an antidote to sensationalist easy answers . . .
Behave is the antidote to all those pop psychology books that promise the secret of why we do what we doTruly all-encompassing . . . detailed, accessible, fascinating
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 Sacks
Behind 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.
