{"id":129057,"date":"2024-08-26T15:11:42","date_gmt":"2024-08-26T19:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=129057"},"modified":"2026-04-27T12:59:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T16:59:00","slug":"determined-robert-sapolsky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/determined-robert-sapolsky\/","title":{"rendered":"Determined: Robert Sapolsky Argues for Life Without Free Will"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do we have free will<\/a>, or is everything predetermined? What difference does it make?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Determined, <\/em>Robert Sapolsky says that decades of research have led him to two conclusions. First, people do not have free will<\/a>. Second, accepting this fact will empower us to create a better world for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on for an overview of this book that deals with a matter that scientists, philosophers, and theologians have been debating for millennia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Overview of Determined<\/em> by Robert Sapolsky<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our overview will begin by explaining determinism<\/em>\u2014the theory that every event is predetermined\u2014and its implications for human behavior. We\u2019ll then briefly discuss various scientific fields like chaos theory<\/a> and quantum mechanics<\/a>; for each, we\u2019ll explain why some people believe that field proves the existence of free will (or at least the possibility of it), and Sapolsky\u2019s rebuttals to those theories. Finally, we\u2019ll explore why Sapolsky believes that determinism compels us to create a fairer, kinder world and why he wants you to act as though free will doesn\u2019t exist, even if you\u2019re not totally convinced yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Sapolsky<\/a> is a neuroscientist who\u2019s spent decades exploring the biological and neurological causes of human behavior. He researches such varied topics as how stress affects the brain, what drives people to commit acts of violence, and why religious beliefs are so widespread and enduring. He is widely published in academic journals<\/a> and has also written several popular science books, the most famous of which is Behave<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> which was the precursor to Determined<\/a><\/em>. Robert Sapolsky is also a professor of biology, neurology, and neurosurgery at Stanford University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Predetermined Universe<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sapolsky begins by explaining determinism<\/em>: <\/em>the theory that every event, from the most important to the most trivial, is the direct result of whatever happened immediately before it. <\/strong>Those occurrences, in turn, were due to what happened immediately before them, and so on. In short, determinism theorizes an unbroken web of events that reaches all the way back to the beginning of the universe<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Determinism also means that whatever happened was the only thing that could <\/em>have happened at that moment, because it was determined by the moment beforehand. For example, think about what happens when you throw a ball: The moment you let go, the place where that ball will land has already been determined by the force of your arm, the angle of your throw, the wind, and countless other factors. The ball can\u2019t simply choose to land someplace else\u2014all it can do is travel along its predetermined path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This section will explain two major reasons why Sapolsky believes free will doesn\u2019t exist:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. By definition, free will means making decisions without any influences\u2014otherwise, you\u2019re simply reacting rather than acting freely. However, this is impossible because you\u2019re always being influenced by your genes, experiences, and surroundings. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Whatever \u201cchoice\u201d you make is the only choice you could have possibly made, based on everything influencing you at that exact moment. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    We\u2019ll also discuss how scientific advancement supports Sapolsky\u2019s theory that people aren\u2019t in control of their own actions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Determinism and Human Behavior<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Applying the theory of determinism to human behavior would mean that anything a person thinks or does is simply a response to what happened the moment before. Moreover, it\u2019s the only response they could possibly have\u2014just like the ball from the previous example can\u2019t land someplace besides where it\u2019s going to land, the person can\u2019t do something besides what they\u2019re going to do. Innumerable different factors, both personal and environmental, come together to create that one inevitable outcome. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To give just a few examples of personal influences: Someone\u2019s genetics, their physical and mental health, and their mood all affect their behavior. Even things that seem unimportant, like whether they\u2019ve eaten recently, play a role; you probably know from experience that being hungry makes you irritable and more likely to snap at people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Environmental influences on a person\u2019s behavior include socioeconomic status, education, culture, friend groups, and how their parents or guardians raised them. Again, seemingly trivial things can affect their thoughts and actions<\/strong>\u2014for instance, people tend to get short-tempered when it\u2019s hot out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Furthermore, each of those influences was itself influenced by whatever came before it. Therefore, determinism once again theorizes a string of causes and effects going back to the very beginning of time and insists that everything people do is part of that unchangeable string of events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Argument #1 for Determinism: Influenced Choices Aren\u2019t Free Choices<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

    The crux of Sapolsky\u2019s argument that human behavior is deterministic is: Your brain determines what you do, and all of the countless influences we discussed determine what your brain does. <\/strong>Therefore, what you experience as \u201cmaking a choice\u201d is really your brain processing all of the things influencing you at that moment and calculating a response. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For instance, you might think that you chose to have steak for dinner, when in reality you were being influenced by low iron levels that made you crave red meat and a sign advertising the local butcher shop that you saw on your way home from work. Then again, perhaps money\u2019s too tight for steak, so you decided to make meatloaf instead\u2014that\u2019s another factor (your finances) further influencing the decision that you believe you made freely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Argument #2 for Determinism: You\u2019d Always Make the Same Choice<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

    Sapolsky says another fundamental concept of determinism is that identical situations will always lead to identical outcomes.<\/strong> This logically follows from the idea that events are predetermined by the events leading up to them; if that\u2019s true, then the same causes will always lead to the same effects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We\u2019ll apply this concept to human behavior with a thought experiment<\/a>: Imagine that you\u2019re standing in your kitchen right now, deciding what you want to eat. Now imagine that scenario playing out across an infinite number of identical realities, with an infinite number of identical versions of you. Would all of those \u201cyou\u201ds choose the same snack?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If even one copy of you chose differently from the others, that would prove the existence of free will; since the starting conditions are exactly the same, free will is the only thing that could lead to a different outcome.<\/strong> Conversely, the deterministic answer is that every one of those infinite versions of you would make the exact same decision, thereby demonstrating that free will is a myth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Shrinking Role of \u201cFree Will\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    While discussing determinism and free will (or the lack thereof), Sapolsky points out that scientific research has repeatedly found underlying reasons for things that we used to believe were the result of personal choices<\/a>. This suggests that \u201cfree will\u201d is just a catch-all explanation to fill the gaps in our understanding of people\u2019s behavior. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Therefore, <\/strong>the more we learn, the less we attribute to this nebulous concept of free will. For example, now that we know about conditions like clinical depression and ADHD, we understand that people with those disorders have chemical imbalances that affect their behavior, and they aren\u2019t just choosing to be lazy or careless.Following that trend to its conclusion, Sapolsky believes that if we somehow became omniscient, it would become clear that free will doesn\u2019t exist.<\/strong> With no gaps in our understanding of human behavior, there would be no need for such a concept, nor would there be any way to fit it into our worldview even if we wanted to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Scientific Theories of Free Will<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Now that we\u2019ve explained Sapolsky\u2019s strictly deterministic view of the universe, we\u2019ll explore several science-based theories of free will<\/a> and Sapolsky\u2019s counterarguments to those theories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This section will cover: <\/p>\n\n\n\n