Advertisement
| determined: a science of life without free will: Determined Robert M. Sapolsky, 2024-10-15 The instant New York Times bestseller “Excellent…Outstanding for its breadth of research, the liveliness of the writing, and the depth of humanity it conveys.” – Wall Street Journal One of our great behavioral scientists, the bestselling author of Behave, plumbs the depths of the science and philosophy of decision-making to mount a devastating case against free will, an argument with profound consequences Robert Sapolsky’s Behave, his now classic account of why humans do good and why they do bad, pointed toward an unsettling conclusion: We may not grasp the precise marriage of nature and nurture that creates the physics and chemistry at the base of human behavior, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Now, in Determined, Sapolsky takes his argument all the way, mounting a brilliant (and in his inimitable way, delightful) full-frontal assault on the pleasant fantasy that there is some separate self telling our biology what to do. Determined offers a marvelous synthesis of what we know about how consciousness works—the tight weave between reason and emotion and between stimulus and response in the moment and over a life. One by one, Sapolsky tackles all the major arguments for free will and takes them out, cutting a path through the thickets of chaos and complexity science and quantum physics, as well as touching ground on some of the wilder shores of philosophy. He shows us that the history of medicine is in no small part the history of learning that fewer and fewer things are somebody’s “fault”; for example, for centuries we thought seizures were a sign of demonic possession. Yet, as he acknowledges, it’s very hard, and at times impossible, to uncouple from our zeal to judge others and to judge ourselves. Sapolsky applies the new understanding of life beyond free will to some of our most essential questions around punishment, morality, and living well together. By the end, Sapolsky argues that while living our daily lives recognizing that we have no free will is going to be monumentally difficult, doing so is not going to result in anarchy, pointlessness, and existential malaise. Instead, it will make for a much more humane world. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Determined Robert M Sapolsky, 2023-10-19 What if free will is an illusion? In Determined one of the world’s greatest scientists of human behaviour overturns one of our most powerful beliefs – that we are the authors of our own actions – and sets out the disturbing yet liberating implications of accepting this fact. As Robert Sapolsky shows, everything we think and do is caused by the luck of our biology and the influence of our environment, and ultimately both are beyond our control. In a world without free will, we must completely rethink what we mean by choice, responsibility, morality and justice. Sapolsky’s extraordinary book does exactly this, guiding us toward a profoundly fairer, more humane way of living together. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Behave Robert M. Sapolsky, 2017-05-02 Why do we do the things we do? Over a decade in the making, this game-changing book is Robert Sapolsky's genre-shattering attempt to answer that question as fully as perhaps only he could, looking at it from every angle. Sapolsky's storytelling concept is delightful but it also has a powerful intrinsic logic: he starts by looking at the factors that bear on a person's reaction in the precise moment a behavior occurs, and then hops back in time from there, in stages, ultimately ending up at the deep history of our species and its genetic inheritance. And so the first category of explanation is the neurobiological one. What goes on in a person's brain a second before the behavior happens? Then he pulls out to a slightly larger field of vision, a little earlier in time: What sight, sound, or smell triggers the nervous system to produce that behavior? And then, what hormones act hours to days earlier to change how responsive that individual is to the stimuli which trigger the nervous system? By now, he has increased our field of vision so that we are thinking about neurobiology and the sensory world of our environment and endocrinology in trying to explain what happened. Sapolsky keeps going--next to what features of the environment affected that person's brain, and then back to the childhood of the individual, and then to their genetic makeup. Finally, he expands the view to encompass factors larger than that one individual. How culture has shaped that individual's group, what ecological factors helped shape that culture, and on and on, back to evolutionary factors thousands and even millions of years old. The result is one of the most dazzling tours de horizon of the science of human behavior ever attempted, a majestic synthesis that harvests cutting-edge research across a range of disciplines to provide a subtle and nuanced perspective on why we ultimately do the things we do...for good and for ill. Sapolsky builds on this understanding to wrestle with some of our deepest and thorniest questions relating to tribalism and xenophobia, hierarchy and competition, morality and free will, and war and peace. Wise, humane, often very funny, Behave is a towering achievement, powerfully humanizing, and downright heroic in its own right. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Free Will Sam Harris, 2012-03-06 From the New York Times bestselling author of The End of Faith, a thought-provoking, brilliant and witty (Oliver Sacks) look at the notion of free will—and the implications that it is an illusion. A belief in free will touches nearly everything that human beings value. It is difficult to think about law, politics, religion, public policy, intimate relationships, morality—as well as feelings of remorse or personal achievement—without first imagining that every person is the true source of his or her thoughts and actions. And yet the facts tell us that free will is an illusion. In this enlightening book, Sam Harris argues that this truth about the human mind does not undermine morality or diminish the importance of social and political freedom, but it can and should change the way we think about some of the most important questions in life. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: The Trouble With Testosterone Robert M. Sapolsky, 2012-10-16 Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize From the man who Oliver Sacks hailed as “one of the best scientist/writers of our time,” a collection of sharply observed, uproariously funny essays on the biology of human culture and behavior. In the tradition of Stephen Jay Gould and Oliver Sacks, Robert Sapolsky offers a sparkling and erudite collection of essays about science, the world, and our relation to both. “The Trouble with Testosterone” explores the influence of that notorious hormone on male aggression. “Curious George’s Pharmacy” reexamines recent exciting claims that wild primates know how to medicate themselves with forest plants. “Junk Food Monkeys” relates the adventures of a troop of baboons who stumble upon a tourist garbage dump. And “Circling the Blanket for God” examines the neurobiological roots underlying religious belief. Drawing on his career as an evolutionary biologist and neurobiologist, Robert Sapolsky writes about the natural world vividly and insightfully. With candor, humor, and rich observations, these essays marry cutting-edge science with humanity, illuminating the interconnectedness of the world’s inhabitants with skill and flair. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers Robert M. Sapolsky, 2004-09-15 Renowned primatologist Robert Sapolsky offers a completely revised and updated edition of his most popular work, with over 225,000 copies in print Now in a third edition, Robert M. Sapolsky's acclaimed and successful Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers features new chapters on how stress affects sleep and addiction, as well as new insights into anxiety and personality disorder and the impact of spirituality on managing stress. As Sapolsky explains, most of us do not lie awake at night worrying about whether we have leprosy or malaria. Instead, the diseases we fear-and the ones that plague us now-are illnesses brought on by the slow accumulation of damage, such as heart disease and cancer. When we worry or experience stress, our body turns on the same physiological responses that an animal's does, but we do not resolve conflict in the same way-through fighting or fleeing. Over time, this activation of a stress response makes us literally sick. Combining cutting-edge research with a healthy dose of good humor and practical advice, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers explains how prolonged stress causes or intensifies a range of physical and mental afflictions, including depression, ulcers, colitis, heart disease, and more. It also provides essential guidance to controlling our stress responses. This new edition promises to be the most comprehensive and engaging one yet. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Who's in Charge? Michael Gazzaniga, 2012-04-19 The prevailing orthodoxy in brain science is that since physical laws govern our physical brains, physical laws therefore govern our behaviour and even our conscious selves. Free will is meaningless, goes the mantra; we live in a 'determined' world. Not so, argues the renowned neuroscientist Michael S. Gazzaniga as he explains how the mind, 'constrains' the brain just as cars are constrained by the traffic they create. Writing with what Steven Pinker has called 'his trademark wit and lack of pretension,' Gazzaniga ranges across neuroscience, psychology and ethics to show how incorrect it is to blame our brains for our behaviour. Even given the latest insights into the physical mechanisms of the mind, he explains, we are responsible agents who should be held accountable for our actions, because responsibility is found in how people interact, not in brains. An extraordinary book, combining a light touch with profound implications, Who's in Charge? is a lasting contribution from one of the leading thinkers of our time. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Why Free Will Is Real Christian List, 2019-05-06 A crystal-clear, scientifically rigorous argument for the existence of free will, challenging what many scientists and scientifically minded philosophers believe. Philosophers have argued about the nature and the very existence of free will for centuries. Today, many scientists and scientifically minded commentators are skeptical that it exists, especially when it is understood to require the ability to choose between alternative possibilities. If the laws of physics govern everything that happens, they argue, then how can our choices be free? Believers in free will must be misled by habit, sentiment, or religious doctrine. Why Free Will Is Real defies scientific orthodoxy and presents a bold new defense of free will in the same naturalistic terms that are usually deployed against it. Unlike those who defend free will by giving up the idea that it requires alternative possibilities to choose from, Christian List retains this idea as central, resisting the tendency to defend free will by watering it down. He concedes that free will and its prerequisites—intentional agency, alternative possibilities, and causal control over our actions—cannot be found among the fundamental physical features of the natural world. But, he argues, that’s not where we should be looking. Free will is a “higher-level” phenomenon found at the level of psychology. It is like other phenomena that emerge from physical processes but are autonomous from them and not best understood in fundamental physical terms—like an ecosystem or the economy. When we discover it in its proper context, acknowledging that free will is real is not just scientifically respectable; it is indispensable for explaining our world. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: A Primate's Memoir Robert M. Sapolsky, 2007-11-01 In the tradition of Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey, Robert Sapolsky, a foremost science writer and recipient of a MacArthur Genius Grant, tells the mesmerizing story of his twenty-one years in remote Kenya with a troop of savanna baboons. I had never planned to become a savanna baboon when I grew up; instead, I had always assumed I would become a mountain gorilla,” writes Robert Sapolsky in this witty and riveting chronicle of a scientist’s coming-of-age in Africa. An exhilarating account of Sapolsky’s twenty-one-year study of a troop of rambunctious baboons in Kenya, A Primate’s Memoir interweaves serious scientific observations with wry commentary about the challenges and pleasures of living in the wilds of the Serengeti—for man and beast alike. Over two decades, Sapolsky survives culinary atrocities, gunpoint encounters, and a surreal kidnapping, while witnessing the encroachment of the tourist mentality on Africa. As he conducts unprecedented physiological research on wild primates, he becomes enamored of his subjects—unique and compelling characters in their own right—and he returns to them summer after summer, until tragedy finally prevents him. By turns hilarious and poignant, A Primate’s Memoir is a magnum opus from one of our foremost science writers. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Monkeyluv Robert M Sapolsky, 2011-03-31 Described by Oliver Sacks as 'one of the best scientist-writers of our time', Robert M. Sapolsky here presents the human animal in all its quirkiness and diversity. In these remarkable essays, Sapolsky once again deploys his compassion and insights into the human condition to tell us who, why and how we are. Monkeyluv touches on themes such as sexuality, aggression, love, parenting, religion, ageing, and mental illness. He ponders such topics as our need to seek out beauty; why our preferences in food become fixed; why we are sexually attracted to one another; why Alzheimer's disease tends to be a post-menopausal phenomenon; and why grandmothers buying groceries for their grandchildren are part of nature's Darwinian logic. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Science and the Navy Harvey M. Sapolsky, 2014-07-14 Addressing all those interested in the history of American science and concerned with its future, a leading scholar of public policy explains how and why the Office of Naval Research became the first federal agency to support a wide range of scientific work in universities. Harvey Sapolsky shows that the ONR functioned as a surrogate national science foundation between 1946 and 1950 and argues that its activities emerged not from any particularly enlightened position but largely from a bureaucratic accident. Once involved with basic research, however, the ONR challenged a Navy skeptical of the value of independent scientific advice and established a national security rationale that gave American science its Golden Age. Eventually, the ONR's autonomy was worn away in bureaucratic struggles, but Sapolsky demonstrates that its experience holds lessons for those who are committed to the effective management of science and interested in the ability of scientists to choose the directions for their research. As military support for basic research fades, scientists are discovering that they are unprotected from the vagaries of distributive politics. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Free Will Uri Maoz, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, 2022-01-11 What is free will? Can it exist in a determined universe? How can we determine who, if anyone, possesses it? Philosophers have debated the extent of human free will for millennia. In recent decades neuroscientists have joined the fray with questions of their own. Which neural mechanisms could enable conscious control of action? What are intentional actions? Do contemporary developments in neuroscience rule out free will or, instead, illuminate how it works? Over the past few years, neuroscientists and philosophers have increasingly come to understand that both fields can make substantive contributions to the free-will debate, so working together is the best path forward to understanding whether, when, and how our choices might be free This book contains thirty bidirectional exchanges between neuroscientists and philosophers that focus on the most critical questions in the neurophilosophy of free will. It mimics a lively, interdisciplinary conference, where experts answer questions and follow-up questions from the other field, helping each discipline to understand how the other thinks and works. Each chapter is concise and accessible to non-experts-free from disciplinary jargon and highly technical details-but also employs thorough and up-to-date research from experts in the field. The resulting collection should be useful to anyone who wants to get up to speed on the most fundamental issues in the rising field of the neurophilosophy of free will. It will interest experts from philosophy or neuroscience who want to learn about the other discipline, students in courses on a host of related topics, and lay readers who are fascinated by these profound issues. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Is Science Compatible with Free Will? Antoine Suarez, Peter Adams, 2012-12-22 Anyone who claims the right ‘to choose how to live their life’ excludes any purely deterministic description of their brain in terms of genes, chemicals or environmental influences. For example, when an author of a text expresses his thoughts, he assumes that, in typing the text, he governs the firing of the neurons in his brain and the movement of his fingers through the exercise of his own free will: what he writes is not completely pre-determined at the beginning of the universe. Yet in the field of neuroscience today, determinism dominates. There is a conflict between the daily life conviction that a human being has free will, and deterministic neuroscience. When faced with this conflict two alternative positions are possible: Either human freedom is an illusion, or deterministic neuroscience is not the last word on the brain and will eventually be superseded by a neuroscience that admits processes not completely determined by the past. This book investigates whether it is possible to have a science in which there is room for human freedom. The book generally concludes that the world and the brain are governed to some extent by non-material agencies, and limited consciousness does not abolish free will and responsibility. The authors present perspectives coming from different disciplines (Neuroscience, Quantumphysics and Philosophy) and range from those focusing on the scientific background, to those highlighting rather more a philosophical analysis. However, all chapters share a common characteristic: they take current scientific observations and data as a basis from which to draw philosophical implications. It is these features that make this volume unique, an exceptional interdisciplinary approach combining scientific strength and philosophical profundity. We are convinced that it will strongly stimulate the debate and contribute to new insights in the mind-brain relationship. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Stress, the Aging Brain, and the Mechanisms of Neuron Death Robert M. Sapolsky, 1992 Looking beyond the now widely recognized relationships between stress and physical illness, this accessible and engagingly written book suggests that stress and stress-related hormones can also endanger the brain. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Four Views on Free Will John Martin Fischer, Robert Kane, Derk Pereboom, Manuel Vargas, 2024-01-17 A lively and engaging debate between four representative views on free will, completely revised and updated with new perspectives Four Views on Free Will is a robust and careful debate about free will, how it interacts with determinism and indeterminism, and whether we have it or not. Providing the most up-to-date account of four major positions in the free will debate, the second edition of this classic text presents the opposing perspectives of renowned philosophers John Martin Fischer, Robert Kane, Derk Pereboom, and Manuel Vargas. Substantially revised throughout, this new volume contains eight in-depth chapters, almost entirely rewritten for the new edition, in which the authors state their different positions on the debate, offer insights into how their views have evolved over the past fifteen years, respond to recent critical literature in the field, and interact and engage with each other in dialogue. In the first four chapters the authors defend their distinctive views about free will: libertarianism, compatibilism, hard incompatibilism, and revisionism. The subsequent four chapters consist of direct replies by each of the authors to the other three. Offering a one-of-a-kind interactive conversation about the most recent work on the subject, Four Views on Free Will, Second Edition provides a balanced and enlightening discussion on all the key concepts and conflicts in the free will debate. Part of the acclaimed Great Debates in Philosophy series, it remains essential reading for undergraduate and graduate students, lecturers and scholars in philosophy, ethics, free will, philosophy of mind, political philosophy, law, and related subjects. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: No-Choice Theory Ahmad Safavy, 2017-04-14 REVISED EDITION: 10 Feb, 2018 A brand new theory on the free will question: We believe that Freewill is what separates thinking humanity from instinct-driven animals. For most of history, humans have either taken Freewill for granted or sung its praises. We assume we control our thoughts and that our thoughts control our actions. But what if we're wrong? After all, we may live in a deterministic universe. Since the moment of the Big Bang, matter and molecules have engaged in a complex dance of Cause-and-Effect, and that interaction could have determined the nature of everything-including our thoughts. Such is the argument of Ahmad Safavy, who employs current scientific principles-from the Big Bang to the systematic formation of atoms, molecules, and the living world, to quantum mechanics and chaos theory-to question how molecular action could affect everything including our genetics, our decision-making processes, and our daily lives. In addition to utilizing the well-known scientific terms, theories, and principles, Safavy proposes new concepts such as Energy Exchange Processes, Energy-Information Duality Principle, and Universal Spider Web Interconnectivity Model in his Freewill-related arguments. While targeting the general readership, the book may be used as a compact but rich source of scientific and philosophical information by the students of these fields. It may be particularly useful to philosophy students with no or limited science background and students of non-scientific disciplines. Skillfully translating complex scientific concepts into accessible, everyday terms, Safavy invites readers to consider the arguments for and against universal Determinism. How does the presence or absence of Freewill affect our lives and our decisions? If there is no Freewill, how would that change our approach to crucial moral and sociological issues? Do we have Freewill? If not, what is occurring when we make a decision and act on it? The answers lie in No-Choice Theory. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Teachings on Being Codrin Stefan Tapu, A quintessential religious text, these original teachings are the fruit of millennia of religious thought. They will surely provide valuable insight for the spiritual beings of believers and non-believers alike. A psychologist explores the intersection of faith and material life in this nonfiction philosophical rumination . . . An engrossing, nuanced reflection on what it means to be human. —Kirkus Reviews (verdict: get it) Codrin Tapu is a pioneer that generations will follow.—Dr. Lisa Christiansen |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Why Evolution is True Jerry A. Coyne, 2010-01-14 For all the discussion in the media about creationism and 'Intelligent Design', virtually nothing has been said about the evidence in question - the evidence for evolution by natural selection. Yet, as this succinct and important book shows, that evidence is vast, varied, and magnificent, and drawn from many disparate fields of science. The very latest research is uncovering a stream of evidence revealing evolution in action - from the actual observation of a species splitting into two, to new fossil discoveries, to the deciphering of the evidence stored in our genome. Why Evolution is True weaves together the many threads of modern work in genetics, palaeontology, geology, molecular biology, anatomy, and development to demonstrate the 'indelible stamp' of the processes first proposed by Darwin. It is a crisp, lucid, and accessible statement that will leave no one with an open mind in any doubt about the truth of evolution. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Human Natures Paul R. Ehrlich, 2001-12-31 Why do we behave the way we do? Biologist Paul Ehrlich suggests that although people share a common genetic code, these genes do not shout commands at us...at the very most, they whisper suggestions. He argues that human nature is not so much result of genetic coding; rather, it is heavily influenced by cultural conditioning and environmental factors. With personal anecdotes, a well-written narrative, and clear examples, Human Natures is a major work of synthesis and scholarship as well as a valuable primer on genetics and evolution that makes complex scientific concepts accessible to lay readers. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: The Secret History of Kindness Melissa Holbrook Pierson, 2015-05-05 An intimate, surprising look at man’s best friend and what the leading philosophies of dog training teach us about ourselves. Years back, Melissa Holbrook Pierson brought home a border collie named Mercy, without a clue of how to get her to behave. Stunned after hiring a trainer whose immediate rapport with Mercy seemed magical, Pierson began delving into the techniques of positive reinforcement. She made her way to B. F. Skinner, the behavioral psychologist who started it all, the man who could train a pigeon to dance in minutes and whose research on how behavior is acquired has ramifications for military dolphin trainers, athletes, dancers, and, as he originally conceived, society at large. To learn more, Pierson met with a host of fascinating animal behaviorists, going behind the scenes to witness the relationships between trainers and animals at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, and to the in-depth seminars at a Clicker Expo where all the dogs but hers seemed to be learning new tricks. The often startling story of what became of a pathbreaking scientist’s work is interwoven with a more personal tale of how to understand the foreign species with whom we are privileged to live. Pierson draws surprising connections in her exploration of how kindness works to motivate all animals, including the human one. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Living Without Free Will Derk Pereboom, 2006-11-02 Argues that morality, meaning and value remain intact even if we are not morally responsible for our actions. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: The End of Everything Katie Mack, 2021-05-04 Mack looks at five ways the universe could end, and the lessons each scenario reveals about the most important concepts in cosmology. --From publisher description. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Freedom Evolves Daniel C. Dennett, 2004-01-27 Can there be freedom and free will in a deterministic world? Renowned philosopher Daniel Dennett emphatically answers “yes!” Using an array of provocative formulations, Dennett sets out to show how we alone among the animals have evolved minds that give us free will and morality. Weaving a richly detailed narrative, Dennett explains in a series of strikingly original arguments—drawing upon evolutionary biology, cognitive neuroscience, economics, and philosophy—that far from being an enemy of traditional explorations of freedom, morality, and meaning, the evolutionary perspective can be an indispensable ally. In Freedom Evolves, Dennett seeks to place ethics on the foundation it deserves: a realistic, naturalistic, potentially unified vision of our place in nature. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, 2nd Edition Robert M. Sapolsky, 1998-04-15 Combining cutting edge research with a healthy dose of humor and practical advice, Sapolsky explains how prolonged stress causes or intensifies mental afflictions. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Science And Human Behavior B.F Skinner, 2012-12-18 The psychology classic—a detailed study of scientific theories of human nature and the possible ways in which human behavior can be predicted and controlled—from one of the most influential behaviorists of the twentieth century and the author of Walden Two. “This is an important book, exceptionally well written, and logically consistent with the basic premise of the unitary nature of science. Many students of society and culture would take violent issue with most of the things that Skinner has to say, but even those who disagree most will find this a stimulating book.” —Samuel M. Strong, The American Journal of Sociology “This is a remarkable book—remarkable in that it presents a strong, consistent, and all but exhaustive case for a natural science of human behavior…It ought to be…valuable for those whose preferences lie with, as well as those whose preferences stand against, a behavioristic approach to human activity.” —Harry Prosch, Ethics |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Making Sense Sam Harris, 2020-08-11 Civilization rests on a series of successful conversations. Sam Harris Neuroscientist, philosopher, podcaster and bestselling author Sam Harris, has been exploring some of the greatest questions concerning the human mind, society, and the events that shape our world. Harris's search for deeper understanding of how we think has led him to engage and exchange with some of our most brilliant and controversial contemporary minds - Daniel Kahneman, Robert Sapolsky, Anil Seth and Max Tegmark - in order to unpack and clarify ideas of consciousness, free will, extremism, and ethical living. For Harris, honest conversation, no matter how difficult or contentious, represents the only path to moral and intellectual progress. Featuring eleven conversations from the hit podcast, these electric exchanges fuse wisdom with rigorous interrogation to shine a light on what it means to make sense of our world today. 'I don't have many can't miss podcasts, but Making Sense is right at the top of that short list.' - Stephen Fry 'Sam Harris is the most intellectually courageous man I know.' - Richard Dawkins |
| determined: a science of life without free will: We Ingolf U. Dalferth , 2024-08-27 |
| determined: a science of life without free will: The Moral Landscape Sam Harris, 2011-06-30 Sam Harris's first book, The End of Faith, ignited a worldwide debate about the validity of religion. In the aftermath, Harris discovered that most people - from religious fundamentalists to nonbelieving scientists - agree on one point: science has nothing to say on the subject of human values. Indeed, our failure to address questions of meaning and morality through science has now become the primary justification for religious faith. In this highly controversial book, Sam Harris seeks to link morality to the rest of human knowledge. Defining morality in terms of human and animal well-being, Harris argues that science can do more than tell how we are; it can, in principle, tell us how we ought to be. In his view, moral relativism is simply false - and comes at an increasing cost to humanity. And the intrusions of religion into the sphere of human values can be finally repelled: for just as there is no such thing as Christian physics or Muslim algebra, there can be no Christian or Muslim morality. Using his expertise in philosophy and neuroscience, along with his experience on the front lines of our 'culture wars', Harris delivers a game-changing book about the future of science and about the real basis of human cooperation. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: The Neural Basis of Free Will Peter Tse, 2013 The issues of mental causation, consciousness, and free will have vexed philosophers since Plato. This book examines these unresolved issues from a neuroscientific perspective. In contrast with philosophers who use logic rather than data to argue whether mental causation or consciousness can exist given unproven first assumptions, Tse proposes that we instead listen to what neurons have to say. Because the brain must already embody a solution to the mind--body problem, why not focus on how the brain actually realizes mental causation? Tse draws on exciting recent neuroscientific data concerning how informational causation is realized in physical causation at the level of NMDA receptors, synapses, dendrites, neurons, and neuronal circuits. He argues that a particular kind of strong free will and downward mental causation are realized in rapid synaptic plasticity. Recent neurophysiological breakthroughs reveal that neurons function as criterial assessors of their inputs, which then change the criteria that will make other neurons fire in the future. Such informational causation cannot change the physical basis of information realized in the present, but it can change the physical basis of information that may be realized in the immediate future. This gets around the standard argument against free will centered on the impossibility of self-causation. Tse explores the ways that mental causation and qualia might be realized in this kind of neuronal and associated information-processing architecture, and considers the psychological and philosophical implications of having such an architecture realized in our brains. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: A Lab of One's Own Rita Colwell, Sharon Bertsch McGrayne, 2020-08-04 A “beautifully written” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) memoir-manifesto from the first female director of the National Science Foundation about the entrenched sexism in science, the elaborate detours women have take to bypass the problem, and how to fix the system. If you think sexism thrives only on Wall Street or Hollywood, you haven’t visited a lab, a science department, a research foundation, or a biotech firm. Rita Colwell is one of the top scientists in America: the groundbreaking microbiologist who discovered how cholera survives between epidemics and the former head of the National Science Foundation. But when she first applied for a graduate fellowship in bacteriology, she was told, “We don’t waste fellowships on women.” A lack of support from some male superiors would lead her to change her area of study six times before completing her PhD. A Lab of One’s Own is an “engaging” (Booklist) book that documents all Colwell has seen and heard over her six decades in science, from sexual harassment in the lab to obscure systems blocking women from leading professional organizations or publishing their work. Along the way, she encounters other women pushing back against the status quo, including a group at MIT who revolt when they discover their labs are a fraction of the size of their male colleagues. Resistance gave female scientists special gifts: forced to change specialties so many times, they came to see things in a more interdisciplinary way, which turned out to be key to making new discoveries in the 20th and 21st centuries. Colwell would also witness the advances that could be made when men and women worked together—often under her direction, such as when she headed a team that helped to uncover the source of anthrax used in the 2001 letter attacks. A Lab of One’s Own is “an inspiring read for women embarking on a career or experiencing career challenges” (Library Journal, starred review) that shares the sheer joy a scientist feels when moving toward a breakthrough, and the thrill of uncovering a whole new generation of female pioneers. It is the science book for the #MeToo era, offering an astute diagnosis of how to fix the problem of sexism in science—and a celebration of women pushing back. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: When Brains Dream: Understanding the Science and Mystery of Our Dreaming Minds Antonio Zadra, Robert Stickgold, 2021-01-12 A truly comprehensive, scientifically rigorous and utterly fascinating account of when, how, and why we dream. Put simply, When Brains Dream is the essential guide to dreaming. —Matthew Walker, author of Why We Sleep Questions on the origins and meaning of dreams are as old as humankind, and as confounding and exciting today as when nineteenth-century scientists first attempted to unravel them. Why do we dream? Do dreams hold psychological meaning or are they merely the reflection of random brain activity? What purpose do dreams serve? When Brains Dream addresses these core questions about dreams while illuminating the most up-to-date science in the field. Written by two world-renowned sleep and dream researchers, it debunks common myths that we only dream in REM sleep, for example—while acknowledging the mysteries that persist around both the science and experience of dreaming. Antonio Zadra and Robert Stickgold bring together state-of-the-art neuroscientific ideas and findings to propose a new and innovative model of dream function called NEXTUP—Network Exploration to Understand Possibilities. By detailing this model’s workings, they help readers understand key features of several types of dreams, from prophetic dreams to nightmares and lucid dreams. When Brains Dream reveals recent discoveries about the sleeping brain and the many ways in which dreams are psychologically, and neurologically, meaningful experiences; explores a host of dream-related disorders; and explains how dreams can facilitate creativity and be a source of personal insight. Making an eloquent and engaging case for why the human brain needs to dream, When Brains Dream offers compelling answers to age-old questions about the mysteries of sleep. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Free Will: A Very Short Introduction Thomas Pink, 2004-06-24 Every day we seem to make and act upon all kinds of free choices - but are these choices really free? Or are we compelled to act the way we do by factors beyond our control? This book looks at free will. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Not on My Watch Alexandra Morton, 2022-09-06 NATIONAL BESTSELLER Alexandra Morton has been called the Jane Goodall of Canada because of her passionate thirty-year fight to save British Columbia's wild salmon. Her account of that fight is both inspiring in its own right and a roadmap of resistance. Alexandra Morton came north from California in the early 1980s, following her first love—the northern resident orca. Then, in 1989, industrial aquaculture moved into the region, chasing the whales away. Soon Alex had shifted her scientific focus to documenting the infectious diseases and parasites that pour from the ocean farm pens of Atlantic salmon into the migration routes of wild Pacific salmon, and then to proving their disastrous impact on wild salmon and the entire ecosystem of the coast. Alex stood against the farms, first representing her community, then alone, and at last as part of an uprising in which ancient Indigenous governance resisted a province and a country that wouldn't obey their own court rulings. She has used her science, many acts of protest and the legal system in her unrelenting efforts to save wild salmon and ultimately the whales—a story that reveals her own perseverance and bravery, but also shines a bright light on the ways other humans doggedly resist the truth. Here, she brilliantly calls those humans to account for the sake of us all. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: How Physics Makes Us Free J. T. Ismael, 2016-02-03 In 1687 Isaac Newton ushered in a new scientific era in which laws of nature could be used to predict the movements of matter with almost perfect precision. Newton's physics also posed a profound challenge to our self-understanding, however, for the very same laws that keep airplanes in the air and rivers flowing downhill tell us that it is in principle possible to predict what each of us will do every second of our entire lives, given the early conditions of the universe. Can it really be that even while you toss and turn late at night in the throes of an important decision and it seems like the scales of fate hang in the balance, that your decision is a foregone conclusion? Can it really be that everything you have done and everything you ever will do is determined by facts that were in place long before you were born? This problem is one of the staples of philosophical discussion. It is discussed by everyone from freshman in their first philosophy class, to theoretical physicists in bars after conferences. And yet there is no topic that remains more unsettling, and less well understood. If you want to get behind the façade, past the bare statement of determinism, and really try to understand what physics is telling us in its own terms, read this book. The problem of free will raises all kinds of questions. What does it mean to make a decision, and what does it mean to say that our actions are determined? What are laws of nature? What are causes? What sorts of things are we, when viewed through the lenses of physics, and how do we fit into the natural order? Ismael provides a deeply informed account of what physics tells us about ourselves. The result is a vision that is abstract, alien, illuminating, and-Ismael argues-affirmative of most of what we all believe about our own freedom. Written in a jargon-free style, How Physics Makes Us Free provides an accessible and innovative take on a central question of human existence. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: This Is How You Lose the Time War Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone, 2019-07-16 * HUGO AWARD WINNER: BEST NOVELLA * NEBULA AND LOCUS AWARDS WINNER: BEST NOVELLA * “[An] exquisitely crafted tale...Part epistolary romance, part mind-blowing science fiction adventure, this dazzling story unfolds bit by bit, revealing layers of meaning as it plays with cause and effect, wildly imaginative technologies, and increasingly intricate wordplay...This short novel warrants multiple readings to fully unlock its complexities.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) From award-winning authors Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone comes an enthralling, romantic novel spanning time and space about two time-traveling rivals who fall in love and must change the past to ensure their future. Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandment finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, becomes something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future. Except the discovery of their bond would mean the death of each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win. That’s how war works, right? Cowritten by two beloved and award-winning sci-fi writers, This Is How You Lose the Time War is an epic love story spanning time and space. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: The Immune System Hymie Anisman, Shawn Hayley, Alexander W. Kusnecov, 2024-10-22 The Immune System: Mental Health and Neurological Conditions fully investigates how immune-related cellular, molecular, and anatomical changes impact mental functioning. The book combines human and animal studies to reveal immunological changes related to mental-health problems. In addition, users will find comprehensive information on new research related to the microbial composition of the gut microbiome and how it influences brain function and mental health. Common comorbidities with mental illness and their inherent immunological or inflammatory components are also covered. New chapters and sections on peripheral and central mechanisms in relation to viral pathogens, RNA editing to treat diseases, and COVID-19 will be included. Written by leaders in the field, the book synthesizes basic and clinical research to provide a thorough understanding on the role of immunity in neuropsychiatry. This book covers both mental-health conditions and degenerative disorders of the brain, including depression, schizophrenia, autism-like spectrum disorders, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's-like dementia. - Considers both basic human and animal studies that address immunological changes relating to mental health problems across the lifespan - Incorporates techniques, concepts, and ideas from a variety of social, behavioral, and life sciences - Includes new chapter on viral factors (COVID-19) relating to mental and neurological disorders - Reviews how to utilize psychedelics in the treatment of depressive illness |
| determined: a science of life without free will: The Feeling of Life Itself Christof Koch, 2019-09-24 A thought-provoking argument that consciousness—more widespread than previously assumed—is the feeling of being alive, not a type of computation or a clever hack In The Feeling of Life Itself, Christof Koch offers a straightforward definition of consciousness as any subjective experience, from the most mundane to the most exalted—the feeling of being alive. Psychologists study which cognitive operations underpin a given conscious perception. Neuroscientists track the neural correlates of consciousness in the brain, the organ of the mind. But why the brain and not, say, the liver? How can the brain—three pounds of highly excitable matter, a piece of furniture in the universe, subject to the same laws of physics as any other piece—give rise to subjective experience? Koch argues that what is needed to answer these questions is a quantitative theory that starts with experience and proceeds to the brain. In The Feeling of Life Itself, Koch outlines such a theory, based on integrated information. Koch describes how the theory explains many facts about the neurology of consciousness and how it has been used to build a clinically useful consciousness meter. The theory predicts that many, and perhaps all, animals experience the sights and sounds of life; consciousness is much more widespread than conventionally assumed. Contrary to received wisdom, however, Koch argues that programmable computers will not have consciousness. Even a perfect software model of the brain is not conscious. Its simulation is fake consciousness. Consciousness is not a special type of computation—it is not a clever hack. Consciousness is about being. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Re-Engineering Humanity Brett Frischmann, Evan Selinger, 2018-04-19 Innovation has a dark side. The price of progress is that humans are becoming increasingly predictable, programmable, and machine-like. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Free Alfred R. Mele, 2014 Has science proved that free will is an illusion? Some people say yes, citing experiments in neuroscience and psychology. The answer defended here is an emphatic no. Philosopher Alfred R. Mele here describes the crucial free will experiments in clear and simple language and lays out the most important problems with the claim that science has disproved free will. |
| determined: a science of life without free will: Letters of Note: Outer Space , 2021-09-07 An irresistible new volume of missives about outer space, from the author of the bestselling Letters of Note collections In Letters of Note: Outer Space, Shaun Usher brings together fascinating correspondence about the universe beyond our planet, containing hopeful thoughts about the future of space travel, awestruck messages penned about the world beyond our own and celebrations of the human ingenuity that has facilitated our understanding of the cosmos. Includes letters by: Buzz Aldrin, Isaac Asimov, Marion Carpenter, Yuri Gagarin, Ann Druyan, Stanley Kubrick, Nikola Tesla, Neil DeGrasse Tyson & many more |
DETERMINED Synonyms: 279 Similar and Opposite Words - Merriam-Webster
Synonyms for DETERMINED: resolute, intent, decisive, resolved, confident, bound, positive, firm; Antonyms of DETERMINED: undetermined, hesitant, unresolved, uncertain, indecisive, …
DETERMINED | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
DETERMINED definition: 1. wanting to do something very much and not allowing anyone or any difficulties to stop you: 2…. Learn more.
937 Synonyms & Antonyms for DETERMINED - Thesaurus.com
Find 937 different ways to say DETERMINED, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at Thesaurus.com.
DETERMINED definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
If you are determined to do something, you have made a firm decision to do it and will not let anything stop you. He is determined to win gold at the Olympics. American English : …
determined adjective - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and …
Definition of determined adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. [not before noun] having made a definite decision to do something and not letting anyone prevent you. …
Determinated vs. Determined — Which is Correct Spelling? - Ask …
Apr 23, 2024 · "Determinated" is the incorrect spelling of "determined," which refers to having a firmness of purpose or a resolute attitude. How to spell Determined? Remember that …
Determined - definition of determined by The Free Dictionary
Define determined. determined synonyms, determined pronunciation, determined translation, English dictionary definition of determined. adj. 1. Marked by or showing determination; …
determined, adj. meanings, etymology and more - Oxford English …
There are ten meanings listed in OED's entry for the adjective determined. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
What does determined mean? - Definitions.net
Determined is an adjective that describes a state of firmness or resoluteness towards achieving a certain goal or outcome. It refers to someone who has made a strong decision and is resolved …
DETERMINED Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
The meaning of DETERMINED is having reached a decision : firmly resolved. How to use determined in a sentence.
DETERMINED Synonyms: 279 Similar and Opposite Words - Merriam-Webster
Synonyms for DETERMINED: resolute, intent, decisive, resolved, confident, bound, positive, firm; Antonyms of DETERMINED: undetermined, hesitant, unresolved, uncertain, indecisive, faltering, …
DETERMINED | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
DETERMINED definition: 1. wanting to do something very much and not allowing anyone or any difficulties to stop you: 2…. Learn more.
937 Synonyms & Antonyms for DETERMINED - Thesaurus.com
Find 937 different ways to say DETERMINED, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at Thesaurus.com.
DETERMINED definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
If you are determined to do something, you have made a firm decision to do it and will not let anything stop you. He is determined to win gold at the Olympics. American English : determined / …
determined adjective - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and …
Definition of determined adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. [not before noun] having made a definite decision to do something and not letting anyone prevent you. The …
Determinated vs. Determined — Which is Correct Spelling? - Ask …
Apr 23, 2024 · "Determinated" is the incorrect spelling of "determined," which refers to having a firmness of purpose or a resolute attitude. How to spell Determined? Remember that …
Determined - definition of determined by The Free Dictionary
Define determined. determined synonyms, determined pronunciation, determined translation, English dictionary definition of determined. adj. 1. Marked by or showing determination; resolute: …
determined, adj. meanings, etymology and more - Oxford English …
There are ten meanings listed in OED's entry for the adjective determined. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
What does determined mean? - Definitions.net
Determined is an adjective that describes a state of firmness or resoluteness towards achieving a certain goal or outcome. It refers to someone who has made a strong decision and is resolved …
DETERMINED Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
The meaning of DETERMINED is having reached a decision : firmly resolved. How to use determined in a sentence.
