You have no free will at all | Stanford professor Robert Sapolsky

How your biology and environment make your decisions for you, according to Dr. Robert Sapolsky.

Robert Sapolsky, PhD is an author, researcher, and professor of biology, neurology, and neurosurgery at Stanford University. In this interview with Big Think’s Editor-in-Chief, Robert Chapman Smith, Sapolsky discusses the content of his most recent book, “Determined: The Science of Life Without Free Will.”

Being held as a child, growing up in a collectivist culture, or experiencing any sort of brain trauma – among hundreds of other things – can shape your internal biases and ultimately influence the decisions you make. This, explains Sapolsky, means that free will is not – and never has been – real. Even physiological factors like hunger can discreetly influence decision making, as discovered in a study that found judges were more likely to grant parole after they had eaten.

This insight is key for interpreting human behavior, helping not only scientists but those who aim to evolve education systems, mental health research, and even policy making.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Go Deeper with Big Think:

►Become a Big Think Member

►Get Big Think+ for Business

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About Robert Sapolsky:

Robert M. Sapolsky holds degrees from Harvard and Rockefeller Universities and is currently a Professor of Biology and Neurology at Stanford University and a Research Associate with the Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya. His books include New York Times bestseller, Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst and Determined.

[minimal]

Everything on this topic has already been said by Schopenhauer: "You are free to do what you want, but you are not free to want what you want."

[crystalwest]

So glad the YT algorithm put this in my feed. Watching Dr. Sapolsky's Stanford lectures was such great infotainment many years ago. I'd watch any interview or talk from this man.

[Dom]

I watched many of his Stanford lectures one night on LSD and from there I went on a 3 week binge. The way he explains complex ideas is so excitable and concise. It reminds of all of my favorite teachers in high school and college.

[KeithCooper-Albuquerque]

The interviewer, Robert Chapman Smith, is excellent in this interview with Dr. Sapolsky. I had never seen one of his interviews, but I must congratulate him and Big Think on this video!

[DoñaRatona]

"You have to protect people from incompetent people" what a truth that is

[kleckerklotz]

19:16 "Everytime you're making a decission about why someone just did something, including yourself, stop and question it and think about it a second time and fifth time and tenth time and as part of that decission because you can't imagine what the world is like for that person is part of that decission, because their face doesn't register with yours as much as in uses face does there. Just be sceptical and think again and again and especially when you're tired and wanna make a fast attribution."

I wanna hug this man so much.

[tomschneider]

I have watched quite a few interviews with Robert Sapolsky, but this one was one of the best. You asked all the questions that I always wanted to ask him about free will, except you did it better.
Very good interview

[NunTheLass]

I humbly prefer mr Sapolsky's lectures over his interviews. Here on YT is a whole playlist of lectures on behavioral psychology and they're a work of art. Clearly refined over decades of teaching. They are very accessible and watch like documentaries rather than the dry lectures most of us are used to.

[Threetails]

Worth remembering that in psychology there is a huge replicability crisis with many experiments. For example an experiment on delayed gratification involving leaving a child alone with a marshmallow seemed to indicate that poor children inherited less self control and couldn't delay gratification. However the experiment failed to control for the fact that the poor children were more likely to be hungry during the experiment. There are plenty of videos on this platform about the replicability crisis that are worth viewing.

[ishaadass]

irony is that same people who say everything is predetermined by God and every thing is God's plan are the same people who think there's free will 😂

[Agix.]

Ive loved Dr Sapolsky for a long time. His way of engagement during lectures/classes. Easily one of the best intellectuals of our time

[miketrotman]

Fascinating. It seems as much an anthropological proposition as a neurological one if you start from that fact that when laypeople talk about free will, they're talking about a value, a meaning (independence) more than about a faculty. No wonder so many rush to defend it. To avoid falling into the usual feud that discussions of value lead to, we should be able to talk about the ability to choose without reference to value. Better yet, we need to talk about why that's such a high value for us and what self-identities we think it forms.

[charlieng]

The assumption of free will is the assumption that we are independent from the others. It's the assumption that there is a 'real me' making decisions, independent of outside factors.

[passonthering]

I observed myself slowly being influenced by this presentation. I don’t have to dig too deeply to understand how I became the kind of person whose mind could be changed regarding this topic. Thank you for that fascinating journey of the mind.

[aknowingspirit]

I appreciate the part where he essentially says to think deeply and repetitiously before making a decision, and to reflect on how your feelings impact why you might decide one way vs. another.

There are so many things we do that impact other people. That action of thinking before choosing, makes a huge difference. It can change outcomes. We often take for granted why we do things. This helps put it into perspective.

There is this notion of inspiration that he delves into thats interesting (the movie theater example). There is often some stimuli that nudges you in one direction or another. Then it begs the question: what started this sustainable, renewable resource, called earth, that we have become part of?

All interesting conversations that simply lead to more questions... And more conversations. I love that.

[MrSarooz]

The biggest problem with the intellectual society debating ‘free will’ is that they seldom talk about ‘what is free will’ actually is.
If one has free will or not depends on the definition of free will.

[rubncarmona]

I could listen professor Sapolsky forever and never get bored. He might be the coolest grandpa ever

[EmmaJohnson-dvcx]

Great Video Professor Robert! Below are the Timestamped Summary using ChatWithPDF:
- 00:00 🧠 Evolution sculpted the frontal cortex to be influenced by environment, not genetics, shaping behavior.

|

- 02:40 📚 Dr. Sapolsky discusses his book Determined to emphasize the lack of free will despite conscious choices.

|

- 05:25 🔄 Distributed causality explains how various factors influence decisions, from brain activity to environment.

|

- 07:58 🌐 Distributed causality encompasses a wide range of influences, from hormones to cultural ancestry.

|

- 10:54 🧠 Phineas Gage's case exemplifies how brain damage affects behavior, showcasing concentrated causality.

|

- 13:35 ⏳ Immediate factors like hunger, stress, and past trauma impact decision-making and perception in a fraction of a second.

|

- 16:11 🔄 Judges' parole decisions are influenced by factors like meal times, showcasing the impact of physiological states on judgments.

|

- 18:55 🌍 Cultures shape child-rearing practices, influencing brain development and societal values through generations.

|

- 21:23 🔄 Society plays a critical role in shaping individual brains to replicate cultural values and beliefs.

|

- 24:17 🔄 Emergence explains how simple elements collectively create complex behaviors and consciousness.

|

- 26:57 🧠 Emergence cannot account for free will as it requires individual components to function differently against their nature.

|

- 29:57 🔄 Emergence is a consequence of collective numbers and interactions, leading to emergent properties like conformity.

|

- 32:37 🌍 Cultural differences in child-rearing practices reflect societal values and influence neural patterns in children's brains.

|

- 35:08 🔄 Genetic and environmental factors influence brain development, with the frontal cortex evolving for delayed maturation to learn societal norms.

|

- 37:53 🌍 Cultural differences in child-rearing practices shape societal values and neural patterns, impacting behavior and decision-making.

|

- 40:20 🧠 Ancestral backgrounds influence cultural practices and societal norms, leading to diverse behaviors and belief systems.

|

- 42:56 🌍 Cultural practices, such as child-rearing methods, reflect societal values and impact brain development over generations.

|

- 45:45 🔄 Society plays a crucial role in wiring brains to replicate cultural values, beliefs, and behaviors through child-rearing practices.

|

- 48:33 🧠 Understanding distributed causality helps individuals recognize the influences behind their behaviors and decisions.

|

- 51:02 🔄 Quarantining dangerous individuals without blame or punishment protects society while addressing root causes of harmful behavior.

[maxnicks]

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was a determinist who did not believe in free will. He believed that specific causes must have specific, nonrandom effects, and that everything is determined by forces over which we have no control. Einstein once wrote, “If the moon, in the act of completing its eternal way around the earth, were gifted with self-consciousness, it would feel thoroughly convinced that it was traveling its way of its own accord”. He also believed that free will was an illusion.

[techInduct]

The notion of free will presents itself as a complex and multifaceted topic, often shrouded in ambiguity. It oscillates between moments of apparent mastery over our choices and times when everything seems to spiral into disarray beyond our control. However, an intriguing possibility emerges when we embrace an open-minded perspective, untethered from the influence of cultural norms, socio-economic pressures, political currents, and the effects of substances like food, drugs, or alcohol, as well as the weight of past memories. In this liberated state of mind, the decision-making process takes on a newfound clarity, resembling the exercise of free will. It feels as though we're navigating our lives with a greater sense of autonomy and purpose. Yet, amidst this semblance of freedom, there remains a poignant realization that our capacity for true free will is inherently limited. Despite our best efforts, certain aspects of our existence seem to elude our control, reminding us of the intricate interplay between choice and circumstance in shaping the trajectory of our lives.