Determined

Robert M. Sapolsky is a professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University and the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation 'Genius Grant'. His previous books includes the international bestseller <i>Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst</i> <i>The Trouble with Testosterone Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers</i> and <i>A Primate's Memoir</i>. Robert Sapolsky explains why the latest developments in neuroscience and psychology explode our conventional idea of Free Will. The book's chock-full of complex and often counter-intuitive ideas. It's also a joy to read. That's because Sapolsky is not only one of the world's most brilliant scientists but also an immensely gifted writer who tells this important story with wit and compassion. It's impossible to recommend this book too highly. Reading it could change your life. <p><b>PRAISE FOR BEHAVE</b><br><br>'Awe-inspiring . . . this is the best scientific book written for non-specialists that I have ever read. You will learn more about human nature than in any other book I can think of and you will be inspired</p> It's no exaggeration to say that <i>Behave </i>is one of the best nonfiction books I've ever read <i>Behave</i> is the best detective story ever written and the most important. If you've ever wondered why someone did something - good or bad vicious or generous - you need to read this book. If you think you already know why people behave as they do you need to read this book. In other words everybody needs to read it. It should be available on prescription (side effects: chronic laughter; highly addictive). They should put <i>Behave</i> in hotel rooms instead of the Bible: the world would be a much better wiser place Magisterial . . . Sapolsky makes the book consistently entertaining with an infectious excitement at the puzzles he explains . . . a miraculous synthesis of scholarly domains <p><b>One of the world's greatest scientists of human behaviour shows that free will does not exist - and challenges us to rethink the very notion of choice identity responsibility justice morality and how we live together.</b><br><br>'One of the best scientist-writers of our time' <b>Oliver Sacks</b><br><br>Behind every thought action and experience there lies a chain of biological and environmental causes stretching back from the moment a neuron fires to the dawn of our species and beyond. Nowhere in this infinite sequence is there a place where free will could play a role.<br><br>Without free will it makes no more sense to punish people for antisocial behaviour than it does to scold a car for breaking down. It is no one's fault they are poor or overweight or unsuccessful nor do people deserve praise for their talent or hard work; 'grit' is a myth. This mechanistic view of human behaviour challenges our most powerful instincts but history suggests that we have already made great strides toward it: where once we saw demonic possession or cowardice for example now we diagnose illness or trauma and offer help.<br><br><i>Determined</i> confronts us with our true nature: who and what we are is biology and nothing more. Disturbing and liberating in equal measure it explores the far-reaching implications for society of accepting this reality. Monumentally difficult as it may be the reward will be a far more just and humane world.</p>