193 - Robert Sapolsky: Determinism, Free Will, & The End of Moral Responsibility

Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7

Robert Sapolsky is John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor and Professor of Biology, Neurology, and Neurosurgery at Stanford University. He’s also a best-selling author and one of the leading voices in the current—and enduring—debate over free will. In this conversation, Robinson and Robert discuss his latest book, Determined (Penguin, 2023), and the many arguments it contains against free will, and how, if we don’t have it, we ought to change many of our social institutions, like the carceral system, that operate on the assumption that people are free, morally responsible agents. 

Determined: https://a.co/d/g7n5fPj

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:34 Introduction

3:08 Turtles and the Illusion of Free Will

9:35 The Neuroscience of Denial

12:55 What Is Free Will and Why Don’t We Have It?

21:08 What Is Physical Determinism?

23:15 Chaos Theory, Complexity, and Free Will

34:08 Quantum Bullshit 

39:53 Quantum Mechanics and Free Will 

47:59 Does Consciousness Give Us Free Will?

58:12 Fear, Disgust, and Free Will

1:05:46 What Primatology Tells Us About Free Will

1:08:09 The Limbic System and Free Will

1:13:14 Does Testosterone Undermine Free Will?

1:19:45 How Does the Womb Determine Who We Are?

1:24:32 How Is Free Will Connected to Weight Loss? 

1:31:05 How Does Skepticism About Free Will Impact Behavior? 

1:36:51 If There Is No Free Will, What Should We Do With Prisons? 

1:45:32 What Is Funishment?

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.