Big Brains

Do We Really Have Free Will? With Robert Sapolsky


Listen Later

Here’s the question you’re going to be asking for the next 30 minutes: Did I freely choose to listen to this podcast, or did I actually have no choice at all? Most of us probably believe we have free will. We feel like we make decisions, and that each of us is responsible for the consequences of our actions. But what if that’s all just an illusion?

Robert Sapolsky is a renowned professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University, but he’s also the author of best-selling scientific books such as “Behave”. He’s always been focused on the biological mechanisms that shape our actions, but in his latest book, “Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will” he’s going a step further: He says the science shows that our biology doesn’t just shape our actions, but completely controls them. In this episode, he argues that letting go of the illusion of free will could radically reshape our world.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Big BrainsBy University of Chicago Podcast Network

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

457 ratings


More shows like Big Brains

View all
TED Radio Hour by NPR

TED Radio Hour

21,996 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

44,014 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,103 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,686 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,660 Listeners

The Gray Area with Sean Illing by Vox

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

10,735 Listeners

EconTalk by Russ Roberts

EconTalk

4,262 Listeners

Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,338 Listeners

Capitalisn't by University of Chicago Podcast Network

Capitalisn't

540 Listeners

Choiceology with Katy Milkman by Charles Schwab

Choiceology with Katy Milkman

1,457 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

16,232 Listeners

The Pie: An Economics Podcast by Becker Friedman Institute at UChicago

The Pie: An Economics Podcast

176 Listeners

People I (Mostly) Admire by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

People I (Mostly) Admire

2,113 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

16,145 Listeners

The Economics of Everyday Things by Freakonomics Network & Zachary Crockett

The Economics of Everyday Things

1,649 Listeners