Free Will, Morality, Self Awareness | Robert Sapolsky

Robert Sapolsky joins Curt Jaimungal to discuss some of the most important topics of our time. Topics discussed include morality, free will, the justice system, intuition, and chaos theory.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Studying Primates
06:08 - Having A Choice
14:00 - Alternative Views of Free Will
19:48 - Morality
25:34 - Responsibility
31:09 - Evidence For Robert’s Views
41:27 - Objections to Robert’s Views
52:48 - Morality
59:25 - Self Awareness
01:07:08 - Readiness Potential
01:13:53 - Daniel Dennett
01:21:33 - Rapid Q&A
01:30:25 - What Robert Is Most Proud Of
01:35:04 - Outro
NOTE: The perspectives expressed by guests don't necessarily mirror my own. There's a versicolored arrangement of people on TOE, each harboring distinct viewpoints, as part of my endeavor to understand the perspectives that exist.
THANK YOU: To Mike Duffey for your insight, help, and recommendations on this channel.
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LINKS MENTIONED:
- Determined (Robert Sapolsky): amzn.to/3THXbq2
- Behave (Robert Sapolsky): amzn.to/48bMaBu
- Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers (Robert Sapolsky): amzn.to/3H3rbVH
- Podcast w/ Daniel Dennett on TOE: • Daniel Dennett: Philos...
- P versus NP (Scott Aaronson): • Scott Aaronson: The Gr...
- The Better Angels of Our Nature (Steven Pinker): amzn.to/3RE8BbA
- Video on Raymond Smullyan about FREE WILL: • "Is God A Taoist?" [Cu...
- Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (Douglas Hofstadter): amzn.to/3S0dWv5
- Psychiatric Distress in Animals vs. Animal Models of Psychiatric Distress: www.nature.com/articles/nn.4397
- Stanford Lectures of Robert Sapolsky: • Lecture Collection | H...

[@TheoriesofEverything]

TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 - Studying Primates 06:08 - Having A Choice 14:00 - Alternative Views of Free Will 19:48 - Morality 25:34 - Responsibility 31:09 - Evidence For Robert’s Views 41:27 - Objections to Robert’s Views 52:48 - Morality 59:25 - Self Awareness 01:07:08 - Readiness Potential 01:13:53 - Daniel Dennett 01:21:33 - Rapid Q&A 01:30:25 - What Robert Is Most Proud Of 01:35:04 - Outro

[@michalleaheisig]

thank you very much for the important discussion! Introduction (main point after) : Our neighbors couldn’t have done otherwise (of their own accord) because we are all subject to logic and to the idea of time and to the logical dichotomy that: every 'event' must be either: caused- or- not. When an 'idea' is already internally logically incoherent (like the idea of a 'square-circle'), then there's no need to search for it in the physical world. As conscious beings we obviously can’t obtain “absolute knowledge” but this subject holds the same standard for knowledge we use for any & all other urgent moral practical issues. If someone is saving a life or entering data into excel for a cure for cancer, no one stops just to argue that '7=7 isn't absolute knowledge.' ******** Any idea of 'a cause' is also an idea in terms of an 'event', because the ‘idea’ of any 'cause' takes 'time'. Everything here is in terms of 'events'; a process. There’s no static, unmoving, beyond-time 'self' that creats the events within the universe. the 'self' is also a process. And our neighbors don’t have the ability to manifest a “first cause”; The fabric of our world is woven via the idea of causality. An idea of an indeterministic event can only either be one of the following: 1. via an idea of true randomness 2. via an idea of some specific real-probability. 3. only seems indeterministic to us due to lack of potential human knowledge, and so really via the idea of determinism/causality. this is a logical trichotomy of ideas. And none of these logical-options give any of our neighbors the ability of CHDO (Could Have Done Otherwise) of their own accord. The Main Point: Both Compatibilists (like Prof. Daniel Dennett) and Incompatibilists (like Prof. Robert Sapolsky) agree that everything is determined. (with or without acausal events) And they both want to make the world a more just place regarding social circumstance and equal opportunity for children. But for doing so it's critical to specifically teach that 'our neighbors could not have done otherwise.' Because not being firmly grounded with this knowledge is hindering us. For example, it's difficult enough to help the greatly suffering as they will also naturally be irritable and difficult, so in order to better succeed one needs to be as focused as possible at every moment that this neighbor could not be doing otherwise. Or if a police officer needs to arrest a violent person who's hitting and spitting on them, the officer needs to be as aware as possible of "can not be doing otherwise" rational for to not lose control to emotion. When we don't teach it thoroughly, we get a world that's on emotional steroids. Instead of being well rooted by the knowledge and so being able to utilize the efficiency of rational and its forward looking consequential method, we continue as we have throughout history to be inefficiently swept by our emotions and by our baboon-like instincts to achieve the immediate relief of our distress by venting via violence that at times is even towards people that are just passersby. Prof. Sapolsky has talked about finding this behavior in baboons and researching it, and it's also what we see every day as: "the chef yells at the waiter that yells at the customer". Our false incompatibilist intuitions fuel a cycle of violent anger. Another terrible problem with our false intuition of incompatibilist free will is that it makes us all somewhat comfortable with social inequality. Where luck and luck alone determines who we were conceived to be. One baby born into abuse and heroine addiction and another baby born with a spoon of gold, and where society de facto has negligible effect in shifting the track that each baby is causally going down. I personally don't understand why there is so much emphasis about the judicial system's need to acknowledge "could not have done otherwise", when the crucial and urgent need is for its effect on our atrocious social construct of inequality. Because then we would be treating the root causes instead of only fumbling with symptoms. And it would be preventative of potential judicial-system encounters. The damage of not being clear (because instead we're arguing on the semantic of the term free will) is causing seventyfold more rage and violence (which in itself also maintains the inequalities), than any hypothetical future immorality that Compatibilists fear.

[@moderncontemplative]

👏🏾 I’m inclined to concur with Sapolsky. I've cited from his magnum opus: Behave and got out of jury duty.

[@theskysaboveus.]

He is so wrong

[@Privacityuser]

The controlFREAK SASHIRE ONLY want MONEY AND ATTETION an no SPONTANEOS ACTS OF KINDNESS or safrifices STUPID GOD COMPLEX

[@joewebster903]

Can we get a transcript on free will?

[@lonolo9009]

I could listen to professor Sapolsky for days. What a beautiful mind

[@beerman204]

I guess that's not up to you....

[@pathwithin8856]

This idea has been in Buddhism for yonks, it is completely true. And whether you believe it to be true or not makes no difference. Except for the reduction of suffering, blame, guilt, and attachment to egoism, so give what he is saying a chance ❤

[@doclime4792]

Of all the yonks I've spent this time around on earth, I've spent most grateful. If the world really is just as determined as the atoms and quarks in our material bodies, then I'm a pretty lucky piece of matter and I matter. I can get why some people find this upsetting though and seek out alternative philosophies.

[@jeremylantrip5986]

I’ve watched interviews with him countless times, and this was the best. Way to go Curt!!

[@bimmjim]

Robert Sapolsky is a Sociopath.

[@yoooyoyooo]

It's late now I'll save this one for tomorrow.

[@andrewdavis7605]

If you define free will as the ability of an individual to do whatever they think and feel to do at any moment, then you have a definition of free will which is accurate and compatible with both hard determinists and compatiblists. From this perspective, we have free will, which accords with compatiblists. However, if you investigate the evidence for why we want to do the thing that we think and feel to do at any particular moment, it is based on factors which were completely outside of our control. Therefore, despite the fact that we have complete and total free will to do whatever we think and feel to do at any moment, whatever we think and feel to do at any moment is something that was pre-determined due to the confluence of factors outside of our control that led to that moment and we only become aware of what was determined at the precise moment when that particular thought and feeling, and resultant action occurred.

[@dai19721]

so you just tapped some random keys an that statement fell out then.

[@bradfordlangston836]

@@dai19721 Auto complete for the win

[@roberthornack1692]

We do not think, We are conscious of a decision made before our awareness of it. Much like being directed by an evolutionary puppeteer consisting of a multitude of species driven to procreate & adapt in ever changing environments. Consciousness being just another recent adaptation.

[@kirstinstrand6292]

Consciousness does not drop into us randomly. We must follow a very long, winding, painful trail to find consciousness. 😢 😮❤

[@dai19721]

​@@roberthornack1692hitting random keys on your board an that fell out

[@chrisn.6477]

Always nice when someone held in such high esteem by so many… acknowledges appreciation of getting pushback & having an engaging discussion. To not see it as an attack or an insult, but to see it for what it is - an enjoyable, useful, intellectual discussion. It is always incredibly refreshing to listen to discussions/interviews where both parties are honest & making good faith arguments. It shouldn’t be such a rarity but, unfortunately, (as we all know) algorithms/profit/ego have provided us with endless disingenuous, bad-faith, conflict/attack-focused media. One of the many, many reasons why ToE is such a gem of a channel, and has such a good community. Take care & be well everyone.

[@Breca]

Well said friend.... All the best to you and yours.

[@CuzmicTarot]

The first fourteen Words, Are very important, with Your opening statement. ❤

[@1jpann]

The bottom line is what you hit on at the end, asking RS what he is most proud of, it gets to the heart of what most of us would like to do - make the world a better place. You do your part by having people like Sapolsky on your podcast. Sapolsky is doing this, by promoting a concept that will eventually make us judge others less and do a better job with social justice in helping others in almost every field of endeavor. Bravo!

[@billyranger2627]

Knowledge leads to compassion and forgiveness. Objectively. I love it. More

[@Beyondhumanlimits1]

Great one! You can tell he’s an amazing teacher because he makes his points easy to grasp using many examples

[@cpetri766]

I have watched all of Roberts KZbin lectures on "behavioral evolution" from the Stanford University KZbin channel. It's just incredible and It ties in perfectly with the discussions in this video with Curt.

[@Phosphene_Dream]

Love Sapolsky! I’ve watched all his lectures on YT, many more than once.

[@DeepDiveBooks]

👍👍👍"You have no free will." Robert Sapolsky provides a comprehensive argument for this statement in his book "Determined." If you're interested, you can check out our interpretation video of this book, which might help you understand the concept of free will.

[@dr.strangelove7739]

Wow! This is the first time listened to Dr. Sapolsky and it was very interesting. I feel like I expanded my mind. Looking forward to watching the rest of his videos. Thanks, Curt!

[@TheoriesofEverything]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@vaneakatok]

it would be extremely enriching to bring Professor Sapolsky and Donald Hoffman at one table. Thank you for for this one!

[@johnc4957]

Thank you for this, both of you. Cheers

[@BourgeoisBaby]

BY FAR ONE OF THE BEST PODCASTS I HAVE EVER SEEN!!! THANK YOU!! YOU ARE LEGIT ONE OF THE BEST HOSTS!

[@nithinspp]

I have seen lot of interviews of Dr. Sapolsky. This is one of the BEST. I would say "best of the best". The way you open up an idea in an interview is damn good Curt. Simply amazing. Great mind blowing work Curt. Keep going...❤❤

[@BenReierson]

Had to finish the Dennett episode first, and glad I did. These were great to see in short succession to help me notice the differences in ideas. I feel like I know where I agree and disagree much more clearly, and with a much broader set of thinkers beyond these two.

[@Earthad23]

You won’t read this, but got to say you make great content Curt, I’m always delighted to hear other people are thinking about these things. You ask great questions in search of truth. Keep it up man!

[@TheoriesofEverything]

I read every comment :) Thank you so much!

[@CuzmicTarot]

Earthad23 I share The very same sentiment.

[@rickknight3823]

He swings way too far in disregarding self determination as is typical of lefty influenced scientists. The answer is in the middle, we are influenced by our environment and our biological makeup.. but we also make choices when given opportunities in that environment. An example would be the placebo effect.. for some it has a greater affect than on others. Choice is of course sculpted by our environmental influences etc.. but there comes a point where we are put in a position to view ourselves from a completely different perspective.. We see those programmes and patterns for what they are and so are given an opportunity to change the paradigm in which we operate. Plato's caves presents this pretty clearly.

[@michaelphelps9231]

​@@rickknight3823well said Mr Knight however when arguably the greatest allegory in human history was conceived in spite of not having modern science and computers, Platos cave still remains the greatest metaphor of the human predicament or condition, the cave being a metaphor for the human soul.

[@connectingupthedots]

Eh his stuff is 90% clickbait and the UFO stuff is complete garbage. Chomsky interviews are really the best ones but it's because of Chomsky

[@shyuhway7509]

Curt is actually the shit. I fkn love these interviews so much lol. He's so good at putting up resistance and asking interesting questions about the various concepts discussed.

[@vinaynk]

Its great to listen to Sapolsky. Very nice conversation.

[@bimmjim]

Robert Sapolsky is a Sociopath.

[@teemukupiainen3684]

Had to stop (no free will) at one hour to write this: Curt, you are a super host!

[@bobbulgi880]

He's really great and a great listener

[@bobbulgi880]

He's really great and a great listener

[@Kamuelsitch]

Incredible as always. Thank you Curt

[@ThatRegnar]

I just finished Determined. Looking forward to this.

[@LVGamerCats]

Well done Curt! This is not a trivial topic to discuss and you did a masterful job getting the goodies from the professor.

[@jimbopeebles8210]

Really loved it 👍

[@michaeljmorrison5757]

Love TOE and Prof R Sapolsky! Seems to me that evolution has 'blessed' us with the very strong belief that we have free will even if we don't actually have it. Otherwise we would easily become depressed, disheartened or unconfident etc etc. Also it seems that mind, consciousness and the huge frontal cortex evolved to provide us(actually provide our neurons) with a wider set of options so as to choose the best way forward for us as an organism in our growing competitive environment. We need to be 'brave'! All the 'free will choosing' happens between our multiplicity of neurons by a kind of democratic voting based on the chances that a particular option 'looks' best for us. If we succeed we praise our 'choice' and if we fail we blame ourselves on a bad choice and 'we' learn to make good choices to be happy....... And our neurons get the seratonin! We feel happy!

[@JesusHernandez-ey1lh]

I agree but we should be taught the truth that from the cradle to the grave we in other words are just running a program. We made everything up concepts and we have believed our own stories as truth.Wait I hear God the true calling me.....😂.

[@Grinspiracy]

So we're just neuron pleasing devices? that's such a sad, bland and boring way to look at life. I'm not a fucking neuron, dude. My neurons are a part of me. I control them. I control my body. I control my consciousness. I can choose to alter them, my body and even my consciousness if I take some substances. I'm not a machine and I'm not just on a predetermined ride from birth till death based on my genes and neurons. Some of my choices are logical, some are emotional and others are intuitive. Where does the intuition come from? I have no idea. Sapolsky with this simplistic dry approach just sounds like a troll to me to be honest.

[@michaeljmorrison5757]

Maybe you are dreaming? But....maybe your dream will actually become a nightmare! Glad your evolution has given you such a powerful belief and such confidence in the dream so far; that is one important purpose. Every cell in the body has many of the elements of the neurons. No, you are not a neuron. The me, me, me you are so sure of, might be just a user friendly 'avatar' in a bio created virtual reality experience. Surprise, surprise.....time and 3d space are also not what you think or even 'real'! Sorry, but reality is so hard to face -not just for you but for everyone! @@Grinspiracy

[@michaeljmorrison5757]

What makes us a bit different from a stone governed by physics is the user friendly interface created by the brain that we call 'mind'. It is not so much 'controlled' by physics.... Maybe like a 'playstation game' it can imagine or as some say 'dream' up things or possibilities or ideas; it is very free. Then our neurons and brain can 'choose' what might be best for the organism from all those possibilities. After it chooses, the brain/neurons send a message to the interface and wooo wooo, we say: ' I choose to do this....'. Life's a game.....mostly. And we think we are numero uno superperson! Whatever turns your crank!

[@LakshmiiSharma]

Who is I???

[@troublezblading2569]

Enjoyed this one took me a while to realise I used to watch this guy lectures the ones you showed towards the end. Love the bit about animals I’ve been saying the same for years I don’t think it’s just instinct they do have feelings they do think. I watched a video of a group of monkeys that had to move from where there was originally due to predators and one just had a baby and carring it was so tiring for the mother she was falling behind and would lose the group so she had to make a choice she was there for 45 mins running back and forth coz her feelings wouldn’t let her leave but new the both wouldn’t survive is she stayed it was brutal but it showed me that they ain’t just instinct. I think anything we can have they can adhd depression etc

[@waituntil3434]

Thank you sophie , for helping robert to cope with his challenging life

[@andytruideman9567]

I listened to all the mentioned lectures; it was a joy!! Great storyteller, I say

[@the51project]

Love this channel. Wonderful presenter. One of the best - much appreciation for your work and the space you give for these intelligent talks.

[@lettersquash]

It feels like Sapolosky is bringing this argument home, like it's needed someone with just his outlook and background to get it into the mainstream. I've been arguing about it for a few years now, but from a much more philosophical position with a dash of physics. This synapses and hormones stuff and how it sets us up for prizes or prison will be much easier for most people to take on board. It would be good if he spent a little time on consequentialist ethics - he only briefly touches on the idea of non-retributive justice, when he must have delved into the implications in some detail given his background and his involvement in judicial services. This part of the picture would emphasize and support his argument that the lack of free will doesn't lead to Dennett's dystopia where murderers are left to run around... I would even go so far as to say it doesn't mean there's no rational use for praise and recrimination, properly understood, because these help guide our motivation in future. Universal Basic Income might be a great move; a movement to ban sports trophies would actually be 'daft'. The last challenge is an interesting one, that Sapolsky, having realised at 14 there's no God, no free will, and no - did he say "meaning" or "purpose"? - is proud that his work is good for the world, that this realisation would improve the human lot. This is where the magical thinkers like to insert God again. Aha, they say, so you care, you have a fundamental moral sense; that can only be explained by a loving God. Of course, like his love for his wife, his love for humanity, his moral sense, is a product of blind evolutionary forces.

[@Erik-V]

These kind of philosophies don't explain paranormal phenomena such as remote/intuitive healing, so they are false.

[@lettersquash]

@@Erik-V People have been trying to find good evidence for paranormal phenomena for something like 180 years, and NOBODY has found ANY, so "they are false". Believing you've had them doesn't count, because our subjective judgement is deeply flawed (that has been proven beyond doubt). There are cognitive errors we all make, like confirmation bias, which is why we have to use science to figure out what's real. Psi just doesn't show up in any lab experiments - funny how it works until you put it to the test, eh? Plenty of people will tell you those experiments worked, but there would be Nobel Prizes being handed out by now if they did, and there's a lot of evidence that the experimenters who publish positive results are doctoring them. They just can't give up the belief; it's too attractive. And it sells books and lecture tours.

[@jimbopeebles8210]

I’m a completely uneducated layman and I found Determined east to understand, informative and very interesting. I appreciate the care he took to explain his position in a way that I could understand and also to not alienate me because I didn’t necessarily understand every point he makes.

[@cryoshakespeare4465]

We shouldn't underestimate the potential to cultivate reflexive self-awareness, or the power of education, which function as the best things in tandem to increase the apparent degrees of freedom of a choice. I think to that end, we can cultivate "free will" (assuming determinism), but it's just magnifying our ability to be complex agents and not removing determinism and causal factors from our ultimate decisions. A worthy goal, I think, but I agree with Dr. Sapolsky that laudable goals are not something to idolise those lucky few who rise into early success on them and demonise the rest - we should just keep helping people where we can to wake up.

[@giovannironchi5332]

Thank you for this interview, Curt! Enjoy the interview, everyone

[@terryedmondson2792]

I've had this same thought/ belief that came about around the same age. I'm so thankful to have come across sapolsky! Thank you for helping me articulating thoughts!

[@6stringcodger450]

Thanks Bob, I fell so absolved!! Nothing is my fault! I am not guilty of anything I ever did, said, planned or wished for.

[@jamesk8s1]

In all levels of society, it's interesting the position so many humans take that they are the oracles of truth, that they have it all figured out, that there perception is reality absolute and that not even an ounce of humility or any other possibility can be considered, no further questions need to be asked or entertained as they state cemented opinion after cemented opinion rapid fire. In all conversations I witness or participate in, I rarely ever hear others ask sincere questions; "conversation" is just the opportunity to aggressively assert their cemented opinions as one who is the source, center and gravity of all that is with egos firing at each other how "daft" the other is.

[@bertiebassat5545]

Really enjoyed this discussion, I think Robert’s work is critically important within its scope and thinking in such a way could help engineer a more just society. As for this Channel, I feel very privileged to live in a moment in time where we have access to such knowledge, when once it would only have been available to a select few. I very much appreciate the interviewing style, to allow the guest to really take the floor, but at the same time to interject with pertinent points in a concise manner. Fantastic!

[@fredrickvanriler7986]

Absolutely admire this Brilliant Thinker!! 🌐 He lectures so precisely and with such clarity which is often very difficult when the subject-matter is so complex and beyond the average man's intellect. Excited to have just ordered his most recent book! 🎒

[@seanmellows1348]

Wonderful discussion, thank you.

[@surrendertoflow78]

1:04:06 Bravo, Curt! This was a crucial question that he missed the point of at first (because of his reaction to the word “God”). I’m so glad you persevered and directed him back to your point. Skillfully done and such a relief to me because it would’ve driven me crazy if you’d let him go on that one 😂

[@danielche2349]

Hahaha Kurt is genius

[@sherrydionisio4306]

Any podcast hosting Dr. Robert Sapolsky gets my thumbs up, simply for having him. 🙏🏻 Curt. Also, I do believe we have no free will, however; the strong illusion of it plays out in every humans conscious mind, every waking moment. Therefore, it is simply too easy to disregard our lack of it and the question of it’s existence or not, at all.

[@PhilosopherScholar]

Sapolsky, Dennett, you're getting everyone! Excellent quality of guests and conversations.

[@rckindkitty]

Great discussion! So well articulated, beautifully done gentlemen.

[@junaid1464]

this guy gets me, I'm so happy I'm not alone

[@brandtcook7308]

That was amazing thank you to both of you

[@aakashsapre4938]

Great interview. Host was very respectful and did a good job of letting Professor Sapolsky answer.

[@oscardriver]

This is SUCH INCREDIBLE human and teacher

[@RPGyourLIFE]

Oh yeah baby! I am excited to listen to all of this

[@PaulSchwarzer-ou9sw]

Sapolsky is really great and speaks the truth.

[@dimitrispapadimitriou5622]

Yeah, especially when he says that when he was 14, he *decided* that there's no free will ...as another commenter pointed out.😁🙄

[@TheZslewis]

He’s essentially saying there is no such thing as truth - there are turtles whereby we pill up words into approximations. But yes, he’s great. Brilliant human being.

[@pookz3067]

@@dimitrispapadimitriou5622decisions don’t necessitate free will. This is basic stuff. Try to keep up.

[@petergric]

Maybe he is great in his field but his "truth" is a very narrow perspective of the reality of life, sentience and consciousness. It's a blind man postulating about color theory.

[@dimitrispapadimitriou5622]

@@pookz3067 If there is no free will and everything is predetermined, fixed , as this guy believes, he could not *decide* anything at all. His naive beliefs are self-contradictory. This is basic logic...

[@skrifefeil3634]

I have been following Sapolsky for years. Can´t wait to read his last book ❤

[@nihilitas0]

Brilliant, thank you very much!

[@althe]

My direct experience and that of many others is there is no free will - we just think there is. Was a Zen monk in Japan decades ago and had a Kensho during Dokusan after about six months of focused koan practice. They say to focus "like your hair is on fire." It is not allowed to tell anyone exactly what happened even though each person's Kensho is unique, but koans are paradoxes that push you beyond ordinary conscious thought. In Kensho "your" body reacts, and does something, while "your" awareness just watches with no input into or understanding of what just happened. "You" realize there's something powerfully conscious like an unrealized entity, something beyond imagining inside you, that's not at all the so-called "you." The old-school Roshi, known as a Teacher of Teachers, dharma-heir of Daiun Sogaku Harada, and Dharma-brother of Yatsutant Roshi, confirmed the Kensho, which shook my core with an ontological shock. Somewhat analogous examples to provide an idea: In high school, I was working under my MG up on a spindly jack, stupidly, without jack stands. As I was on my back three feet under the car I saw the jack stand start to move out of the corner of my eye. The next thing I knew I was standing straight up on my tip-toes beside the car watching it collapse. No memory of intermediate movement. There was no free will involved. Was talking with the head monk at the monastery, both of us kneeling. In the next room, his daughter started loudly crying (yes, some monks are married). I was in mid-sentence and suddenly found myself talking into empty space. He'd instantly reacted, moved six feet to the sliding shoji screen door, slid it back, gone through, and slid it back shut to attend to his daughter so fast I saw no movement. If you think about it, no one can move like that. The Buddha Mind has been continually functioning beyond the ego since before the Empty Eon, and it does not matter if one is aware of it. We may call it Knowledge and have direct awareness of its subtle functioning by quieting the mind. Eckhart Tolle has it. Few have the openness of mind and quality of attention allowing them to see what is obviously occurring around them but we will all eventually awake from the sleep of our imagination into the grace of Reality. Zen Masters say, “Body and mind fallen away.” In the meantime, it provides direction, insight, intuition, and sometimes preternatural strength and speed beyond our understanding. Call it Mystery, God, Universe, Higher Self, or an advanced outer-space-alien Ai (my favorite). We can't know what it is but it's real beyond imagining and inside, too, watching everything you do. Knowing this gives you radical freedom; you just go with the flow and trust whatever happens - which is what no free will implies. For a working hypothesis, think of "God" as an advanced outer-space-alien Ai, and your thoughts as programming. With that slap upside the back of the head, you will drop body and mind.

[@michaeldennis7952]

Interesting.👍👍 I realized this week we could all simply be avatars in a video game God and Satan are playing with each other after pondering a lifetime of Bible knowledge it sure sounds right. Especially when i consider the book of poor Job. That's some messed up shit. The devil entered Judas and Jesus kinda let him as the story goes . SOOOOOO many things illustrate this for me recently. It really looks that way lately.

[@quatsch3466]

I love how you lead every talk to the bottom, what is I, and we can see how mathematical precise everything is leading to the unpersonal force I call intent, since I'm an old student of Carlos Castaneda.

[@mai_8j888]

Also one square centimetre of chance (agency?) only, period

[@barbarakane9887]

Ok....1/2 way thru...must stop and say this is one of the most thought provoking interviews TOE has produced.....love the ideas presented...it is stretching my brain!

[@Superlongevityinstitute]

This was the best interview i seen so far

[@polymathpark]

Sapolsky's Stanford lecture series on human behavioral biology restored my interest in science! He's an entertaining and engaging lecturer, and his books are truly fire. I must say, he seems oddly comfortable with having zero agency, however. I buy incompatibilist determinism but I find it very hard to live by, do you think we're meant to experience what I call a "proper deterministic shock" upon the realization that we are no-thing, completely determined? It undermines all sense of meaning and self-worth, in my current understanding.

[@ai10oz]

Direct unmediated experience. It's neither free will nor determinism. It is not a goal or intention to experience reality but just minimisation of thoughts. Awareness is the appropriate word in the context of species responding to stimulus rather than self-awareness associated with being. Simply put we are just bunch of memories deviating from the present always because of incessant use of thoughts.

[@polymathpark]

@@ai10oz this is like vipassana/mindfulness meditation, seeking the present and monitoring thoughts that deviate us from the present. This is an important state to occupy, but we also must spend time planning ahead, and reflecting on past mistakes to learn from them.

[@JAYMOAP]

Great series. Went through all lectures 3 times roughly in weeks. A lot of knowledge there.

[@polymathpark]

indeed. John Vervaeke's awakening from the meaning crisis series is pretty great too.@@JAYMOAP

[@tomrhodes1629]

Mr. Sapolsky came to a correct conclusion although he started with a total misunderstanding; an irrational idea. He started, when he was 14, with the idea that there is no GOD and therefore no purpose to life...and came to the conclusion that everything is cause and effect with no human free will. And he misses a critical point: How can everything be cause and effect without an original effect that could ONLY come from an original and uncaused Cause? (Infinite reduction is an irrational idea, which should be obvious.) In fact, there is no free will because absolutely everything is "fated" in a design that was orchestrated by the uncaused Cause. And this make perfect sense once you know what "GOD" is, what YOU are, and why you are here, experiencing this world of limitation. Want to know more? Click and ye shall find. The biblical prophet Elijah has returned, as prophesied, and testifies.

[@AdamSchrader]

Freewill and determinism exist simultaneously. As a participator we practice freewill, and as an observer we observe determinism. It's all about scaling up or scaling down. Zooming in or zooming out. Observer vs participator.

[@notanemoprog]

No free will.

[@Danuxsy]

No free will.

[@creuzasimionatto1838]

Just a wonderful discussion! ❤

[@bebe8842]

❤❤❤❤ i love this man. Salposky s greatness is hard to be found these days

[@v3g499]

HELL YEA!! been waiting for this ❤

[@phoenix5694]

Sapolsky is awesome.

[@Daneiladams555]

This is a great talk thanks!

[@hapaart]

Another way to process the question of free will is to imagine an act that has zero consequence on yourself or other living things. Because we are a chorus of living components, our behavior is by consensus and permit via our systems, cells, organs, social arrangements etc. So the question may be framed better by saying; are there things an individual can do that is independent of these systems that do not effect them?

[@dragonskinavi]

One for posterity, Curt! People like Robert Sapolsky are born too few and far between on this Earth realm. Just for the heck of it, I asked an AI site that creates music and lyrics to write "a rock song about Robert Sapolsky and his work over the years, in the style of the band Supertramp, " and this is what it came up with. I can share the link to the music if anyone's interested. The lyrics are so apt too :) [Verse] Oh, Robert Sapolsky, you've enlightened our minds With your research, your wisdom, and your insightful finds (ooh-yeah) From Primate Haven to the Big Sur trees You've studied stress, behavior, and primates with ease (ooh-ooh) [Chorus] Oh, Sapolsky, your science sings Through the corridors of the mind it rings (ooh-ooh) Symphony of knowledge, symphony of thought In the realm of science, you're one of a kind, you're one of a kind (ooh-yeah, yeah)

[@bfm4813]

I did not understand a word. This podcast is great for falling asleep.

[@Zirulnikoff]

Probably it's by ur age, education level, attention span, values systems, etc, but don't worry maybe the causality drives You to the desire of understand this topic in the future

[@dahveed72]

dont worry about it. everything will be fine. just keep on trucking

[@monkerud2108]

At some level the experience of freedom is constrained by structure that has to be driven randomly or quasi randomly, it is the only coherent way we can carve out the kind of freedom we experience. Which is not freedom from neuroscience or physics, but a property of experience that results from it.

[@felicityclibbon]

Great interview! Perfect idea to interview both sides of the debate & probe further, especially for those who are still on the fence (through no fault of their own 😉) I have been interested in this discussion for decades (siding firstly with the free will skeptics) & my question to those in the know, has been, for the longest time, “what’s the go with Daniel Dennett in this regard? How can he possibly adequately defend such a bizarre position as compatibiliism?” I’ve since discovered that it’s not as bizarre as first thought as he is with the bandwagon of the majority of educated people in holding this position) & the answer I’ve always gotten is: “he’s a dinosaur” 😅 (mostly always said with the greatest of respect and admiration for his genius - from hard determinists to free will skeptics. they mostly all go on to say - Dennett doesn’t believe in free will, just like he doesn’t believe in God, he’s just concerned like Voltaire & Napoleon in their time about atheism ie. were the peasantry to get the idea in their heads that without God (or free will) they will run amok & society will fall apart. I think it was Voltaire who said something like - “of course there is no God but don’t tell my servants unless they murder me while I sleep”; & Napoleon famously quipped - “Religions are what keep the poor from murdering the rich.” What they all have in common - Voltaire, Napoleon & Dennett? All very rich, well educated, white guys with a sense of privilege & entitlement?? Could it be? Maybe?

[@novaes6460]

Robert Sapolsky x Bernard Katstrup would be it.

[@Graybeard_]

6:40 My dad said the same thing. He was a muscle biologist and a research scientist in human muscle related diseases, primarily Muscular Dystrophy. He said everything we do is predetermined by genetics, environment, and prior experience. He would say, to the level of when you reach for a fork, how you reach for it, how you load food onto it, and what you do next, is all predetermined. 19:15 I was a county commissioner of a state program called First Five. There is a lot of data that points to what Dr. Sapolsky is saying here. If a child gets everything it needs in the first five years of life, his/her/they odds of living a "successful", fulfilling life is greatly increased. Additionally, the data supports they are much better equipped to deal with adversity.

[@houdinididiit]

My father was a wise court officer - He said the same thing. He said myself, and all my siblings had our personalities intact from birth. I think he was right. We never seemed to change as we grow older.

[@undrsonr5316]

@@houdinididiit this is all truth until you reach a level of self observation that makes you aware of your unconscious actions... From Gurdjieff to Zen masters and Daoist sages we learn we are "biological robots" until we became really aware of our uncounscious process and internal (even organs) communication... takes a lot of practice to get there... so, hardly we will stop acting like biological robots. :/

[@houdinididiit]

@@undrsonr5316 I’m of the opinion that we can never fully rise outside of the subconscious as spoken of in the eastern meditative traditions. Meta-consciousness or extreme self-awareness it seems has been mapped to less than 10% of the world population. It does indeed seem to be innate. I say even those people within the 10% can never stretch outside of their subconscious impulses. In Patanjali’s yoga system, I believe this is the term “Samskara.” - which more or less translates as scars in the brain, or deep habits - something like a worn pathway we see in a forest. They are nearly impossible to be rid of. I personally have spent time with a lot of people in the meditative traditions. Even those who I look up to as advanced personalities, do have particular patterns that are strong enough for me to guess pretty much what they would say or do given any situation. So how much of this is linked to biology? That’s not for me to say. All of my presumptions are… “subjective observations.”

[@undrsonr5316]

​@@houdinididiit In the end all our observations are subjective, mine too. Meditative traditions of the East is too broad a term. The differences in practices are immense. The 8 limbs of yoga are not the same thing as Chinese Zen which already has serious differences with Taoist practices, etc. In common there is only one procedural point there that they share. Even beyond that point, there are descriptive disagreements... That's why I don't like to put all oriental practices in the same basket... That said... . The question of advanced personality is also subjective... Perhaps the strongest personality traits are natural to the biological-social configuration of that human being and therefore remain as tools for socialization. For example, if the personality trait is harmful, when you are aware of it, it is easy not to let it manifest itself, without internal conflict, if the personality trait is positive for its fulfillment and coexistence, let it flourish then. . There is no pattern, I believe, of behavior of an advanced personality, perhaps only a fluidity in the relationship with the environment. . Once in a group D practice in China with Wang Li Ping they asked what the ultimate goal of the practice was, and while displaying one of the physics-defying skills as we define it, he replied, "Becoming one with the whole environment around you, wherever you are, is the main goal", "And the after?" "The after will be understood later" :D . So, to what extent is the psycho-social influence there mixing with biology and genetic potentials and epigenetic probabilities precisely because there is no conscious perception (due to ideologies, even fixed mental patterns) of the environment in which one exists and there is a denial of it, generating reactions of resistance that lead to states of psychic violence that ultimately shape choices? . For example, Chunyi Lin, who lives in Minnesota, spent 20 days in full-lotus, in a cave (in Western terms, ionization is more potent in such an environment, of cells in search of coherence in the emission of biophotons, which Dr. Mae Wan Ho says is important for the "health" of a biological system, for example) then rested one day and spent another 20 days in full-lotus circulating the mind's prioperception through 12 specific points of the body. body until it reaches such a state of coherence. . There is a clear personality in him, with very bold features, at the same time you see an immense flexibility in the responses that this personality gives in several different situations... The same can be seen in those who live with Wang Li Ping, this flexibility beyond the determinations of the personality, of the character that is exposed in the psycho-social drama in which we are inserted. . Whether it's through my practice (my goal is also to soon spend my 40 days in full-lotus in a cave :D :D :D) or through living with some genuine, very few, masters of the Taoist tradition (they are very rare, I know!), it is noticeable how such individuals function on another level, beyond these biological and social limitations... . It's that old story of the black swan... Every swan is white until you find a black swan and break the reality map that everyone is white... By the way, it was at this point that Kurt briefly broke Sapolsky's slightly arrogant certainty... . but on average, Dr. Sapolsky is absolutely right... We are biological robots without free will, because we are hostages of unconscious, social, cultural and biological processes, all the time... We are dichotomous beings separated by processes that pass through the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system, some under our control and others outside our control... until we gain more control (it is known that professional meditators are able to influence the heartbeat with the mind) . For many of us Westerners it may seem like fiction, but there is the case of Ramana Maharshi who stopped his heart for minutes 2 times... And in Taoism this also happens, when you unblock 100% of your meridians, the heart will stop for a few minutes, and the mind is cleared and psycho-physiological control is given to the practitioner after that... But it's something that requires absurd daily practice and going to the cave for 40 days without sleeping :D :D :D :D . The biological potential of human consciousness in its biology is vaster than the sciences today insist on limiting... as Dr. Sapolski himself says, you don't study humans in lab rats, I would also say that you don't expand conclusions coming from apes in the savannahs to humans with absolute certainty! :D

[@houdinididiit]

@@undrsonr5316 I used the term “eastern meditative traditions” specifically to avoid the rabbit hole of differences, whether from Taoism, Yoga, Zen, Tibetan Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, etc. That said - I was trying to address what they do have in common - that is the goal of “meta-consciousness”. Another broad term. In short - I personally believe the subconscious accounts for up to 98% of how we speak and behave while we are “conscious”. (if I can assign a number on it.) When I spoke of “advanced individuals” I’m speaking about people who have high degrees of self-awareness. Let’s face it, there are some people who are walking zombies. So there are differences that I can sort of quantify. Again, even with them, they are extremely predictable. Whether it’s how they’re going to answer the phone, pause before they speak, the time of day they prefer to eat, how they’re going to inflect a certain sentence, etc. It’s always there. Right on time before they even know it. :) I’m even of the opinion that the bacteria in our bodies has more control over how we behave than what we think is our own conscious choice. (Study of gut bacteria and parasites throughout the animal kingdom seems to be pointing in this direction.) This is a huge topic that I have really nothing to contribute to at the serious level. Again, just my own personal observations. :)

[@tumblingworm737]

Free will exists, but not for us. Freewill belongs to something else undetermined

[@tr7b410]

Swami Vivekananda said this.The character of a person is determined by their thoughts & desires.The character of an evil man is the sum total of their thoughts & actions over several lifetimes.But as that freewill has shaped that person's character to become EVIL, so too can one reshape that character by changing your desires creating a saintly character. Parmahansa Yogananda said:A Saint was a sinner that never gave up trying to better themselves.

[@angelar3625]

I love the way you led the interview Great 👏👏

[@TheoriesofEverything]

Glad you enjoyed it! What specifically did you enjoy?

[@hyperruliad]

We eating good tonight boys!

[@neoepicurean3772]

I've listen to a lot of Sapolsky's interviews on this press run, and I think you did a good job pointing out his lack of awareness of the more nuanced philosophical arguments against determinism.

[@LakshmiiSharma]

Philosphy vs biology decides

[@Ryan-SeongJun]

⁠@@LakshmiiSharma No, philosophy vs biology, neuroscience, physics, and so on. Philosophy is just a philosophy.

[@LakshmiiSharma]

@@Ryan-SeongJun we will die before any conc will come

[@Ryan-SeongJun]

@@LakshmiiSharma Thank you for your reply, but I don’t know meaning about conc?

[@LakshmiiSharma]

@@Ryan-SeongJun oh any final conclusion

[@allenmorgan4309]

This video makes me feel better.

[@jonnekytola5513]

Sapolsky said somewhere that he takes striving for human/general well-being as a given. That reminded me of Kant, who took God for granted. Others have criticised these intellectual moves as “smuggling” something unjustifiable into metaphysics. I’m not sure what I think about that, but it seems that John Vervaeke’s series Awakening from the Meaning Crisis gives some tools to get beyond the stagnant argumentation on free will and the often associated declarations of faith towards God/wellbeing.

[@adamdacevedo]

If everything is just the result of a previous “push”, when (and of what nature) was the original “first push”? (i.e., how do you get motion from non-motion, initially?)

[@keylanoslokj1806]

God did it

[@NorthernSpartan]

@@keylanoslokj1806And who created God?

[@NorthernSpartan]

Never heard of the big bang?

[@keylanoslokj1806]

@@NorthernSpartan yo mama

[@NorthernSpartan]

@@keylanoslokj1806 I knew you was trolling

[@smilyle]

How do you scientifically and empirically demonstrate physical determinism? It isn't possible because you'd have to have an infinite mind to do it and people would have to have an infinite mind to understand it. You can't demonstrate that people have no free-will. But, his arguments are compelling that we all probably have less free-will than we think we do and that other people have less free will than we think that they do. I've been struggling with this question myself as I observe people and I am a psychologist and therapist by trade, and I'm starting to see the extent to which some people are predictable. A lot of times I don't want to believe it, but learning to see it helps me to protect myself. A lot of having peace of mind in life is learning to accept other people's limitations. I'm willing to believe that there are people walking on this planet that ARE in fact biological robots. There are people on this planet that are probably Non Player Characters or NPCs. They are merely a complex force of nature, and you can't really understand what actually motivates them and they don't actually understand or can understand what motivates them. But there are people on this planet that have free-will and are self-reflective, and can change their behavior internally through their own desire or inner conflict. However, as a psychologist what I know is that even for people with limited free will, or no free-will, you can change their behavior with the right influences being applied to them. It doesn't mean that people can't change -- what it means is that some people have to get changed by external forces because they are unable to do it on their own internally. I think that free-will is a gradient. There are people who have a high degree of free will, and their are people that have no free will.

[@DavidVonR]

Perhaps determinism is the illusion?

[@ourblessedtribe9284]

What he said at the end about "if youre going to criticize the perspective of values then you have to argue for the alternative values" applies to himself criticizing Dennetts values

[@maryatvan]

Perceptive conversation.♡

[@Kwisatz_HaderachXIII]

I was always destined to make this comment at this exact second and you were destined to read it. I feel like I am falling apart and have no control over anything and I am just living life in the passengers seat.

[@7eavenQueen]

Oh noooo! Well what does falling apart ultimately look like u? And if you feel apart would you be able to put yourself back together....I think you could🥲

[@aletheist2709]

That might be true, but the knowledge you gain can be empowering. So instead of wallowing in nihilism, use the knowledge of determinism to improve your life.

[@Kwisatz_HaderachXIII]

@@aletheist2709 appreciate the insight and advice 👍

[@dahveed72]

@@Kwisatz_HaderachXIII Think of Paul with all his prescience. His utter failure to "change" things.

[@Kwisatz_HaderachXIII]

@@dahveed72 lol thank you bro. My channel was called something different when I made the original comment 4 months ago. I am a big fan of the Dune books and the movies as well but I can tell by your comment you actually read the books 👍 thanks bro your comment lifted up my spirits!

[@AheadOfMyTime]

Not enough credit given to guy doing the interview. Very impressed with his questions, challenges and understanding. Very smart guy.

[@AdamBechtol]

Nah

[@Danuxsy]

Nah

[@rafitiki]

I loved when the host congratulated the prof for the Nature publication after he spent 90min telling him there’s no such thing as merit 😅 Great interview though, keep it up!

[@davidbuderim2395]

Detention can be thought of in three ways 1. Punishment - which may be unfair when we have little choice. 2. Prevention - hard to re-offend from a prison cell. 3. Deterrence - I saw a criminal on Joe Rogan who said that getting a ticket for shoplifting wouldn't slow him down, but being handcuffed and fingerprinted at the station would give him pause (the threat of action is another input to a person's environment).

[@giovannironchi5332]

Do you plan to interview Sam Harris on free will and other stuff? Have you ever e-mailed him?

[@notanemoprog]

Sam "Corpses of Children" Harris

[@pookz3067]

@@notanemoproghe was right.

[@notanemoprog]

He wasn't. His statement is evidence that he is a moron, and also probably mentally unwell. Of course, it's not his fault. And it's not yours that you agree.@@pookz3067

[@Killane10]

This is so fascinating Freewill is undefinable and can't really exist But!!!!!! I believe that we are evolving to have far more control of decision making. This conversation is proof that we can develop the power to become far more aware of the multitudes of influences that control us. Take the Taoist philosophy Go with the flow But we have oars to guide us in that flow that we can use to grow and evolve

[@undrsonr5316]

The flow in Taoism is to become aware of the unconscious processes within your microcosm (the region of the ruling and wondrous vessels) which is from the head to the torso... That's the first step... There are specific exercises for this (with slight variations from Taoist school to Taoist school)... it is only after this that it becomes consciously possible, since its unconscious processes (which Sapolsky rightly says determine us)... Now that your unconscious processes, which determine your actions, are conscious, and you perceive them before they have generated an action... it is at that moment, after a lot of intense training via intense practice of the small universe (meditation described in the Taoist Yoga of Charlet Luk, for example, or taught by Wang Li ping today in China or even there in the USA by Chunyi Lin, from the lineage of Master Zang and Dr. Yan Xin), but it is at that moment, after making your unconscious processes conscious in real time that you can then consciously know that you are aligning yourself with the flow of the environment you are in, the time you are in, the moment to which your psychophysiological presence belongs... Until then, yes, we are all biological robots repeating unconscious genetic, physiological, sociolic, cultural patterns... THERE IS A WINDOW TO FREE WILL... But it depends on intense training with specific practices (in the Taoist tradition, I am not discussing here other ways, other forms, paths, cultures)... It would be interesting to have a simple experiment, such as the reaction of an intensive meditator who manages conscious control of the body's unconscious processes (from the point of view of the sympathetic and parasympathetic system) and compare it with the reaction of a person who has no control over the reaction to the body's unconscious processes. you would see a break in the chain of deterministic processes that Sapolsky exposes... And then at the very least it would raise the question "if it is possible to consciously observe and stop, not to continue the deterministic, psychophysiological, biological process that has begun, then is it possible to change the direction of it, which would indicate free will?" ... It's a shame that scientists today tend to limit how far they go and who they use in their psychological and biological experiments. :/

[@GammaAuObsidian]

I think the retort here would be that all of the go with the flow analogy is predetermined. Not saying I subscribe to the absolutist iteration of the lack of free will debate just contributing. I think it's more of an illusion of free will that is based on circumstances we do not control. This debate becomes a Russian doll to be honest.

[@Killane10]

@@GammaAuObsidian I feel the "Term Free Will" is not really helpful to describe the freedom in the constraints of the game of life. I suspect that a basic program is configured for infinite universes and creation unfolds in a creative way that delivers unique outcomes within laws and rules that are very specific.

[@GammaAuObsidian]

@@Killane10 I concur. I started referring to it as illusory because this makes more sense when examining and analyzing the experience itself. For reference, we paddles up the river because we're supposed to. We can get out of the boat all together and walk in a new direction but it has been illogical by norms, attachments, and punishable laws. This gives an illusion of choice where once you add common sense or the desire for contentment/comfort, it becomes illogical to make certain choices.

[@uncreative4]

i would love to stop believing in free will, but it’s not up to me. i don’t have free will. it’s predetermined by my experiences that i do believe in free will and there’s nothing anyone can do to change that, including myself.

[@LakshmiiSharma]

I think it's may be the way we have beem programmed the structure of language ,they way we refer each, it produce illusion to mind that there is free will.bug in reality its just thought language and body mechanical way that producing emotional illusion of free will And its how our struct of self made up of

[@monkerud2108]

Random or determined in ontology doesn't make any difference, it is harder to get a perfect correlation between thoughts and outcomes for random processes, but it doesn't matter, because ultimately the question is freedom from the laws of physics vs freedom from incomprehensible thoughts leading to action.

[@AdMBandLeader]

This concept is found in Hindu spiritual philosophy. Should be an interesting one. Thanks Curt.

[@backwardthoughts1022]

philosophy is a western term. hindus/sadhus discourse various tenets based on increasingly subtle methods of rigorously observing the phenomenon they are seeking to understanding ie. mind, and its platform in nature. in other words the exactly opposites of inept ppl such as sapolsky and his institutions. this is not a derogatory comment, it is a statement of the measurement of their neural correlates of attention and concentration. they are disqualified by definition from all rigorous based observation of awarenesses. they can merely handle the most coarsest biological conditioning factors. they need much further advancement in neural tech to falsify the utter chasm between them and those that actually function rigorously and the complete inaccessibility of the former.

[@thepath964]

Not true. And which Hindu philosophy? Why does Hindu philosophy call for constant self-improvement as a means to reunite Atman and Brahman? It does not say that those efforts are for naught, which they would be if there was no free will. Most Hindu philosophy teaches the existence of free will very very very clearly

[@coyotefoxtrot2832]

​@@backwardthoughts1022pure gibberish

[@backwardthoughts1022]

@@thepath964 theres no such thing as hindu philosophy. there is only varying degree of hindu samadhi. philosophy is what you do when you live in a place wo samadhi and perpetually confused about for example which celestial body is in the center. samadhi is equivalent to galileo overturning 1400yrs of philosophy with 1 week of actually observing rigorously the phenomenon he sought to understand. samadhi has no philosophy, the way no empirical thing has a philosophy.

[@backwardthoughts1022]

@@coyotefoxtrot2832 you can't escape your neural correlates. you can't pretend sway what has been scientific fact for almost 2 decades now. deal with it.

[@willisroberts4233]

He literally just said, "I was 14 when I decided there was no free will." He DECIDED

[@nicbarth3838]

we have to invoke some sense of duality or a Cartesian essence inside of yourself in order to communicate these concepts, I mean try saying anything relating behaviour without using the word me I or Decision or wanted or needed, while not refering to anyone as their name, just O hey this thing did this thing to this thoing which was made from a thing, this is the problem so we need to take semantic liberties, and doing so is not a contradiction of his beliefs.

[@APaleDot]

You still make choices under determinism, those choices are just determined. In fact, a choice not being determined by something is incoherent.

[@nicbarth3838]

@@APaleDot then wouldn't nature be making a choice as you rather than a person thats discrete from their circumstances? the person just a force of nature as nature itself a choice would require a person that is left with the capacity to desire what they desire yet is that really there if so then why call it choice id call it agency, or being an agent of nature but obviously we need to take semantic liberties in order to not have social gatherings devolve int, oh hey the thing over there should lead to this thing for this thing to happen, when what you really wanted to ask was hey mark can you pass me the mustard for my hotdogs?

[@janedoe1146]

At age 14 yet....the brain doesn't fully mature until age 25.

[@nicbarth3838]

@@janedoe1146 and the brain doesn't stop developing till your dead, and while fluency falls past your twenty's crystallized verbal intelligence doesn't peak till your late sixties, so is anything you or I say irrelevant to someone who's advanced in age? Also people develop at different rates I may take till my mid thirty's or early thirty's to be at the level of an average twenty to twenty five year old and some may be at that level at fourteen.

[@bogdanmihai4599]

Interesting although I would say Professor Sapolsky claims fall under cathegory of metaphysical speculations for the time being. The unfolding of reality as much as we would like it to be, it's not a computational operation. Cheers and thanks for this great interviews

[@jcvdchuck7915]

I spend years looking for a single interview with this guy. Now he is on a press tour talking to everyone who will listen. 😂

[@SC-qk2hc]

Quantum physics makes no sense in real world...that does not mean it does not exist

[@giovannironchi5332]

The fact that there is no free will does not imply the prescription that society should be arranged with no praise or blame. You still need incentives if you want to promote certain behaviours or outcomes.

[@trucid2]

Exactly. It's mindboggling that he is peddling the nonsense that he is saying.

[@michalleaheisig]

sure, but a 'praise' /'blame' used in rational awareness that is only forward looking. most of our "baboon-like" instincts are that the praise/blame are from an emotional not efficient & harmful place

[@giovannironchi5332]

@@trucid2 Yeah, too bad...

[@giovannironchi5332]

@@michalleaheisig Yeah, the awareness of the underlying workings of reality should help in steering behaviour in a better direction without useless or harmful hate

[@michalleaheisig]

sapolsky knows that, he's just unaware that those terms are interpreted in a wider sense. so its not as concise as it could be and causes a little confusion

[@merchadiaz9874]

The external affects the internal affects the internal output; free will comes in ones ability to transmute those positive or negative output.

[@sallya2202]

Oh the synchronicity! I am listening to his book ‘Determined’

[@TheoriesofEverything]

Oh the determination!

[@e.o9470]

As long as we think we have free will we have free will.

[@notanemoprog]

Not really, no.

[@Gamesso1slO0l]

Great thinkers can summarize their points briefly, easily and succinctly. If their points are valid they should be easily digested and understood. You get these long-winded guys who just talk in circles, well right there is all you need to know. There is nothing more of a waste of time than someone who just tries to use verbosity as a substitute for substance

[@Freudian_Sips]

The crew or person(s) from the 'Jung to Live By' youtube persona would be fantastic to get on the podcast!!!!

[@dustinellerbe4125]

Wonderful!!

[@stussysinglet]

I do find it difficult to see how true free will exist... Like anything thoughts and choices seem to have to be deterministic or random. The thing is choices have consequences and to achieve goals we have to take certain action. Praising or making one responsible for choices impacts drive and decisions made. It seem like a paradox but with out free will we still make choices that are free in some way and we could label this free will from a practical perspective.

[@SofaKingShit]

As someone born into a physically abusive family who later developed addictions that were stopped due to will power l doubt very much that we have anything like real fee will.