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Stanford neurobiologist says there is no such thing as 'free will'
American Thinker ^ | 10/21/2023 | Eric Utter

Posted on 10/21/2023 8:22:02 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

After more than 40 years of studying humans and other primates, Stanford neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky has reached the conclusion that virtually all human behavior is as far beyond our conscious control as the division of cells or the beating of our hearts. (Of course, he had to.)

Therefore, we mustn’t harshly judge such heretofore disdained folks as drunk drivers, serial criminals, Hamas terrorists, and those who bring 29 items to the “8 items or less” checkout lane.

Sapolsky said:

“The world is really screwed up and made much, much more unfair by the fact that we reward people and punish people for things they have no control over. We’ve got no free will. Stop attributing stuff to us that isn’t there.”

Yes, this screwed up world would be a much, much better place if we stopped rewarding and punishing people based on their behavior. Incredibly, Sapolsky is a MacArthur “genius” grant winner, proving that the people who bestow that award are utterly clueless. (Through no fault of their own, of course!) if (publir_show_ads) { document.write("" + ""); }

Indeed, the vast majority of neuroscientists and philosophers believe humans have at least some degree of free will. As do most of the rest of us. But perhaps we have no choice in the matter.

Sapolsky has a new book out, titled, Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will. (I bet he just had to write it!) Doesn’t sound much like “science” to me. But maybe we should ask Dr. Fauci.

The book chronicles neurochemical influences that contribute to human behaviors, and analyzes time, short or long, before we do what we do. Sapolsky had previously written a bestseller called, “Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst,” which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and received other accolades.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Science; Society
KEYWORDS: churchofwoke; freewill; materialism; neurobiology; nonsense; pseudoscience; robertsapolsky; selfcontradiction; stanford; stanfordhalfwit; thenwhybelievehim; washeforcedtosaythat
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To: Stosh
"'''So I take it this guy is trying to convince me that I shouldn’t support punishment for people committing crimes “they had no control over”. It’s almost like he’s assuming I have the free will to change my position on that matter or something."

"Forget it, Stosh. It's Intellectual Babbling."

If you say that again within earshot of this author and his acolytes, you might get this response:

Me? I'll just pop this in the DVD player:

61 posted on 10/21/2023 11:02:32 AM PDT by rlmorel ("If you think tough men are dangerous, just wait until you see what weak men are capable of." JBP)
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To: OKSooner
"A new spin on an old theory."

Yep.


62 posted on 10/21/2023 11:04:11 AM PDT by plain talk
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To: aquila48
It’s not about “fault” or “punishment” or “responsibility”.

And that's the problem. We have a large class in our society that claims it's not about fault, punishment or responsibility because the government can fix it.

63 posted on 10/21/2023 11:05:46 AM PDT by aspasia
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To: SeekAndFind

Then he doesn’t have one either and he is just an automaton.


64 posted on 10/21/2023 11:08:22 AM PDT by metmom (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.)
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To: plain talk

One could wax totally Calvinist right now if one were so inclined.


65 posted on 10/21/2023 11:13:36 AM PDT by OKSooner (Be especially sure to take extra wool socks.)
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To: aspasia

“And that’s the problem. We have a large class in our society that claims it’s not about fault, punishment or responsibility”

No. The problem is we have a large portion of the population that is exempt from suffering the consequences of their choices.

And yes that’s mainly the fault of government, ie, politicians, or more precisely the people who collectively elect them - us.

And so we, collectively, are suffering the consequences of OUR bad choices.


66 posted on 10/21/2023 11:22:10 AM PDT by aquila48 (Do not let them make you "care" ! Guilting you is how they control you. )
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To: SeekAndFind

free will is the choice to focus or not and the choice to think or not


67 posted on 10/21/2023 11:28:04 AM PDT by mjp (pro-freedom & pro-wealth $)
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To: GMThrust

I research and study consciousness from a neuroscience, psychiatric and spiritual perspective.
Often negative results are a function of free will.

Free will is a function of consciousness development.


68 posted on 10/21/2023 11:29:05 AM PDT by tired&retired (Blessings )
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To: aquila48

OK, so it IS about fault, punishment and responsibility. You’ve got me spinning like a faulty watch.


69 posted on 10/21/2023 11:29:22 AM PDT by aspasia
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To: SeekAndFind

So, if I punch his lights out, it ain’t my fault. I had no choice.


70 posted on 10/21/2023 11:29:39 AM PDT by Islander7 (There is no septic system so vile, so filthy, the left won't drink from to further their agenda.)
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To: tired&retired
“The world is really screwed up and made much, much more unfair by the fact that we reward people and punish people for things they have no control over,” Sapolsky said. “We’ve got no free will. Stop attributing stuff to us that isn’t there.”

So, Pavlov's dogs don't really salivate at the sound of a bell because behavior can't be manipulated? And the broken window theory of crime control doesn't work?

Maybe at some 'micro level' this guy's on to something - but at the real world level where we live? Nope, he's another liberal/progressives nutcase making excuses for psychopaths.

71 posted on 10/21/2023 11:41:50 AM PDT by GOPJ (The reason Biden won't protect our border is he wants cash kickbacks...)
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To: aquila48
I think free will is an illusion.

I tend to agree, or at least think it's a far narrower stream to access than most people think.

But if that is so, then why do we feel we can hold people “responsible” for their choices and actions, if they had no control over their choices. And how do we then justify “punishing” someone for a “crime”?

Because even the pre-determinist believes that a person's behavior is a combination of nature and nurture, and punishment becomes part of the nurture. So even if someone is pre-determined to a certain behavior, learning that it will result in misery will become part of the data that guides their little internal flow chart. Also, we still must protect society from certain dangers, and that includes people or actions with a proven track record of destruction.

72 posted on 10/21/2023 11:48:33 AM PDT by A_perfect_lady (The greatest wealth is to live content with little. -Plato)
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To: Stosh
So I take it this guy is trying to convince me that I shouldn’t support punishment for people committing crimes “they had no control over”.

No, that doesn't seem to be his stance. I'm listening to one of his interviews now and I don't think that's where he's going. He probably leans more toward the preventative mindset.

73 posted on 10/21/2023 11:50:20 AM PDT by A_perfect_lady (The greatest wealth is to live content with little. -Plato)
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There is always a cause—or more correctly, causes. It’s just that we are now too complex to understand ourselves.


74 posted on 10/21/2023 11:58:08 AM PDT by firebrand
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To: janetjanet998; dfwgator

That was the first song that came to mind. The second song that came to mind was one that RUSH did much later, with more life experiences behind them:

“The Way the Wind Blows”

We can only grow the way the wind blows
On a bare and weathered shore
We can only bow to the here and now
In our elemental war...

Like a solitary pine
On a bare, wind blasted shore
We can only grow the way the wind blows
In our elemental war...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY4jnK_IoRg

********************************

When I first heard the later song I was really disappointed in the lyrics - it was so different than the early RUSH stuff of independence, free will, etc.

There is truth in both Freewill and that the environment around us (and within us) dictates what will be. The nurture and nature we receive is really just a roll of the bones.


75 posted on 10/21/2023 12:00:13 PM PDT by 21twelve (Ever Vigilant. Never Fearful.)
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To: A_perfect_lady

And to consider, our kind is made in the image of God.


76 posted on 10/21/2023 12:16:06 PM PDT by aspasia
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To: SeekAndFind

Don’t blame him: he didn’t have a choice in saying that.


77 posted on 10/21/2023 12:18:37 PM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: SeekAndFind

That’s odd. I made the conscious decision to quit cigarettes and alcohol. Was that not an act of free will? The nicotine addiction did not evince a strong example of free will.


78 posted on 10/21/2023 12:45:25 PM PDT by muir_redwoods (Freedom isn't free, liberty isn't liberal and you'll never find anything Right on the Left)
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To: muir_redwoods

Some say it’s really because the government raised the tax on cigarette consumption.


79 posted on 10/21/2023 12:51:10 PM PDT by aspasia
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To: aspasia

“OK, so it IS about fault, punishment and responsibility. “

No it’s about controlling behavior via consequences and/or rewards... or THREATS of consequences and PROMISES of rewards.

It’s like training your dog or your kids to do the “right thing”. You dish out bad consequences for bad behavior, and rewards for good behavior. Most will learn and remember those “lessons” and act accordingly. A few may require multiple “lessons” and a very very few never “learn”.

The “pursuit of happiness” is the ultimate driver of human behavior (animals too, for that matter). Good or bad consequences that result from some behavior determine whether he’s going to be happy or not. His INNATE ability to learn and remember those experiences allow him to “predict” which behavior will cause him increased happiness or pain. And those “cause and effect” lessons allow him to make better future choices of behavior in his pursuit of happiness.

The concepts of “fault”, “responsibility” and “punishment” only arise in the context of “free will”, which in my view is an illusion. We have “will” but it is not “free” of the “hardware” we were born with and the vagaries of the environment that surrounds us.

If there is free will then those concepts are valid, if not then they don’t make sense.

It’s really that simple. I don’t understand why it’s so hard to grasp.


80 posted on 10/21/2023 1:33:16 PM PDT by aquila48 (Do not let them make you "care" ! Guilting you is how they control you. )
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