DeterminedAuthor :
Hardback
Published : Thursday 19 October 2023
Description
One of the world's greatest scientists of human behaviour, the bestselling author of Behave, shows that free will does not exist - and challenges us to rethink the notions of choice, identity, responsibility, justice, morality and how we live together. 'One of the best scientist-writers of our time' OLIVER SACKS'Moving, absorbing, compassionate' OLIVER BURKEMAN, ObserverBehind 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. 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. Determined 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. A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER`Utterly fascinating . with mind-boggling implications FRANS DE WAAL'Wonderfully readable ... humorous and warm and humane' Justin Webb, Today (BBC Radio 4)
You may also like ...
![Product](https://abcbooksimages.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/sBookimagesFlat2020/9780008688004.jpg)
by
Hardback
29 Aug 2024
Bilingual and multilingual dictionaries
€58.50
![Product](https://abcbooksimages.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/sBookimagesFlat2020/9780192871848.jpg)
by
Hardback
10 Nov 2022
European history
€105.30
Extended stock – Dispatch 5-7 days
![Product](https://abcbooksimages.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/sBookimagesFlat2020/9780190081096.jpg)
by
Hardback
31 Mar 2021
International institutions
€71.37
Extended stock – Dispatch 5-7 days
![Product](https://abcbooksimages.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/sBookimagesFlat2020/9780008366698.jpg)
by
Hardback
12 Nov 2020
Bilingual and multilingual dictionaries
€46.80
Extended stock – Dispatch 5-7 days
Reviews