Scan barcode
A review by raelovestoread
Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert M. Sapolsky
4.0
PopSugar Reading Challenge 2023: A book you meant to read in 2022
Boy did this one take some heavy lifting both emotionally and intellectually.
Sapolsky attempts to explain the neurobiology and sociobiology that underpins all of human behaviour. Overall, he does it very well. We are taken on a journey from neurotransmitters and dendrites to evolution and genes, through the history of the most influential psychological studies and into the world of philosophy.
This book is quite an achievement. The breadth of Sapolsky's exploration is incredible. A lot of the science in this book is degree-level stuff. It isn't a book that's possible to skim, despite Sapolsky's jolly and entertaining commentary along the way.
Where I did find Sapolsky slipped briefly from his rigorous scientific method into conjecture and personal opinion was in his contemplation of free will. In short, he concludes that it doesn't exist, and I disagree with him (at this point in time). Just because our personhood and humanity is rooted in the organic rather than the magical doesn't necessarily mean we aren't decision-making beings with agency and possibility. Similarly, it doesn't negate all of causality and mean that all behaviour is pre-determined. One day we may discover the physiological basis of our sentience and sense of self, but for now it remains a mystery.
In later chapters, Sapolsky uses language like "that we personally can cause change" which seems to contradict his we-don't-have-free-will stance. This is just one chapter of the book, and apparently his latest book expands on these philosophies... I may read it.
For readers with an academic interest in human behaviour, I would highly recommend this book. It's fascinating. Layers upon layers of rich science commentary that takes a deep dive into the mysteries of the human brain. Just make sure you're prepared to get cerebral!
Boy did this one take some heavy lifting both emotionally and intellectually.
Sapolsky attempts to explain the neurobiology and sociobiology that underpins all of human behaviour. Overall, he does it very well. We are taken on a journey from neurotransmitters and dendrites to evolution and genes, through the history of the most influential psychological studies and into the world of philosophy.
This book is quite an achievement. The breadth of Sapolsky's exploration is incredible. A lot of the science in this book is degree-level stuff. It isn't a book that's possible to skim, despite Sapolsky's jolly and entertaining commentary along the way.
Where I did find Sapolsky slipped briefly from his rigorous scientific method into conjecture and personal opinion was in his contemplation of free will. In short, he concludes that it doesn't exist, and I disagree with him (at this point in time). Just because our personhood and humanity is rooted in the organic rather than the magical doesn't necessarily mean we aren't decision-making beings with agency and possibility. Similarly, it doesn't negate all of causality and mean that all behaviour is pre-determined. One day we may discover the physiological basis of our sentience and sense of self, but for now it remains a mystery.
In later chapters, Sapolsky uses language like "that we personally can cause change" which seems to contradict his we-don't-have-free-will stance. This is just one chapter of the book, and apparently his latest book expands on these philosophies... I may read it.
For readers with an academic interest in human behaviour, I would highly recommend this book. It's fascinating. Layers upon layers of rich science commentary that takes a deep dive into the mysteries of the human brain. Just make sure you're prepared to get cerebral!