Determined cover art

Determined

The Science of Life Without Free Will

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Determined

By: Robert M. Sapolsky
Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

One of the world’s greatest scientists of human behaviour, the bestselling author of
Behave, shows that free will does not exist - and sets out the disturbing yet liberating implications of accepting this fact.

What if free will is an illusion? As Robert Sapolsky shows in this masterful account of the science of human behaviour, 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.

‘A joy to read. It's impossible to recommend this book too highly. Reading it could change your life’ LAURENCE REES

‘Outstanding for its breadth of research, the liveliness of the writing and the depth of humanity it conveys’ Wall Street Journal

‘Moving, absorbing, compassionate' OLIVER BURKEMAN, Observer

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Robert M Sapolsky (P)2023 Penguin Audio
Biology Ethics & Morality Psychology Thought-Provoking Human Brain Mental Health Genetics
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Being Human: Life Lessons from the Frontiers of Science cover art
How Emotions Are Made cover art
Free Will cover art
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers cover art
The Beginning of Infinity cover art
Who You Are cover art
The Atheist's Guide to Reality cover art
Murderous Minds cover art
The Ethical Brain cover art
The Mind Club cover art
Conscience cover art
A Thousand Brains cover art
The Mind and the Brain cover art
Thinking cover art
The Believing Brain cover art
The Science of Fate cover art

Critic reviews

[A] highly entertaining account of why … we should and must overcome the infuriating conspiracy of mind that insists we are the authors of our actions. Anyone who believes otherwise needs to read it (Philip Ball)
Wonderfully readable ... humorous and warm and humane (Justin Webb)

What listeners say about Determined

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    98
  • 4 Stars
    20
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    7
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    82
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    16
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    91
  • 4 Stars
    20
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    6

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An outstanding book. Everyone should read this.

Excellently written by an incredibly knowledgeable author. This will change how you think about life and those around you.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Freeing and refreshing

I loved every minute of that book, and it left me hopeful, and calm. Embracing determinism seems scary at first but the new perspective, distance and compassion capabilities it unlocks are worth it.

The science-y stuff gets tough to grasp at times, this book requires full focus. However, the author's ability to synthesize and provide imaginative examples is a pleasant payoff after any detailed experiment description.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The most profound unimpeachable truth about life

10/10. Brilliantly written! A superb listen! Shatters the magical feel good stories we tell ourselves with the liberating reality of life! Must listen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Unserious but passionate and fascinating

Not a serious argument for its premise; it basically tells us that no such argument is needed. This instead is a quick review of the coolest findings in nature (and the lab) that relate to the topic. Repeating: "please see the pdf footnote" every second sentence is unforgivable. But (despite that stubborn choice) there is too much riveting material in here to make me stop listening (though I was tempted a few times).

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A great read, opens the lid on human behaviour.

Clear narrative and well referenced science. I hope this is the beginning of a new understanding of human behaviour.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Please see the accompanying PDF for a footnote…

Profound insight on existence, sandwiched between messages of “please see the PDF for an accompanying footnote”.

This book will change your life. And annoy you at the same time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This book makes you stop and think

An excellent book that resonates with my own beliefs. It reinforces what I've felt for a long time, that we are not in control and life is one big rollercoaster.

I recommend taking the time to listen to this, even when it gets quite technical.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

An avalanche of information and reflection on one of the ultimate issues.

Worth grinding through a little slightly technical science to get to the argument, the anecdotes, the humour and the humanity.
Chapter 13 is a tour de force and worth the price alone.
I do think he’s rather unfair to philosophers, and singles out some aunt Sallys. Many would agree with every word, and got there earlier by a different route.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the most challenging books I have read.

The God Delusion convinced me that a deity is highly improbable. This book changed my view on responsibility.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A gift to humanity

This book is a gift to humanity and life on our planet. Thank you to the author for bringing such humour, wisdom and compassion to our understanding of our greatest difficulties and successes.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!