Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will is a 2023 nonfiction book by American neuroendocrinology researcher Robert Sapolsky concerning the neurological evidence for or against free will. Sapolsky generally concludes that our choices are determined by our genetics, experience, and environment, and that the common use of the term free will is erroneous. The book also examines the "ethical consequences of justice and punishment" in a model of human behavior that dispenses with free will.
Reception
A review in The Los Angeles Times said of the book "what he's written is stimulating to read, even for those who doubt his conclusions." A review in Science found it to have a "dismissive attitude toward how determinism might be compatible with free will" but was "well written" and "worth reading". Psychology Todays reviewer concluded it was "witty and engaging...a goldmine of fascinating information".