Behave
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.
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2017–2026years
61% recommend37% neutral2% critical
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- "Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst" (Robert Sapolsky) I found it immensely helpful to understand about self and others, I have seen so many talented people ending up in awkward places due to lack of understanding of social dynamics.
- Historians and anthropologists develop neat explanations for horror tropes when genetics has them beat: animals are attracted to and entranced by the punishment and death of abberents. Just read Sapolsky’s Behave and linger in the punishment chapter. Even microbes do this.
- I think you are ironically correct about that! We (including our neurons) operate at the deterministic level of physics. Measuring subconscious areas of the brain also demonstrates that "choices" we make aren't as made-by-our-consciousness as we think. Robert Sapolsky's books (especially "Behave" and "Determined" are phenomenal reads if this topic interests you.
Now that said I don't think living your life as though you have no free will is a good life strategy. The illusion of free will is incredibly important. Fortunately we humans are masters at living with cognitive dissonance and inconsistent beliefs
- Agreed, and to expand slightly, we do know that our brains are constructed on top of neurons, and neurons are way too big to be affected by quantum-level events. There's countless literature describing people who have had accidents or illnesses that damage parts of their brain and change personalities (typically without the patient being aware of any change and in most cases being in adamant denial about it), and we can now pinpoint quite precisely what many parts of the brain do. We even have AI that can now "read minds" to an extent based on measuring neural activity. The idea of "free will" is highly suspect given the deterministic nature of our brains. There are still some God of the Gaps arguments that try to save free will, but IMHO you have to really want to save it in order to accept many of those arguments. It's deeply uncomfortable to consider, but our brains are deterministic.
This is not my field at all so don't take my word for any of it, but I highly recommend people interested in this read or watch Robert Sapolsky's work. His books "Behave" and "Determined" are utterly fascinating and get very, very deep into this in a way that is challenging but understandable for a non-Neurologist.
- You can start with Behave by Robert Sapolsky
- I apologize if this comes off rude. That is not my intention, rather directness is my goal.
Rhetorical questions are only rhetorical if they are based on correct premises and if the answers to those questions clearly and logically lead to the answer that the rhetorical questioner wishes to convey. Used correctly they are indeed a powerful rhetorical tool as they not only illustrate the concept vividly, but they also create an "aha!" moment in the listener. Used incorrectly, they can still be a useful tool despite the initial intention, as it allows the answerer to correct faulty premises or logic, and the questioner to receive updated knowledge that may change their supposition, so the questions can still fulfill a good purpose.
However, this does require that the questioner maintain sufficient humility and open mindedness as to benefit intellectually from the exchange. I would humbly suggest embracing a hearty dose of humility at all times and to re-examine your beliefs when faced with a contradictory reply, rather than doubling down and resisting the new information. It can truly be difficult to do as we humans have evolved to win arguments by any means, not solely through logic[1]. Nevertheless I believe it to be very worth it as the only full path to enlightenment is an unmitigated embrace of logic and truth, and a mental adaptation and change of position whenever it is warranted.
The merit of your questioning was good, so please don't feel as though you didn't add value to the conversation, because IMHO you did!
[1] this is discussed by Robert Sapolsky in "Behave", a book and author I heartily recommend
