Robert Sapolsky
Robert Sapolsky | |
---|---|
Institutions | Stanford University Salk Institute |
Thesis | The Neuroendocrinology of Stress and Aging (1984) |
Doctoral advisor | Bruce McEwen |
Other academic advisors | Melvin Konner[2] |
Robert Morris Sapolsky (born April 6, 1957) is an American academic and neurologist. He is the John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor at Stanford University, and is a professor of biology, neurology, and neurosurgery. His research has focused on neuroendocrinology, particularly relating to stress. He is also a research associate at the National Museums of Kenya.[3]
Early life and education
Sapolsky was born in
Sapolsky is an
In 1978, Sapolsky received his B.A., .
After the initial year-and-a-half
Career
Sapolsky is the John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor at Stanford University, holding joint appointments in several departments, including Biological Sciences, Neurology & Neurological Sciences, and Neurosurgery.[16]
As a
Sapolsky is also interested in the role of schizotypal disorders in the emergence and development of shamanism and the major Western religions. In this context, he has noted similarities between obsessive-compulsive behavior and religious rituals.[9][23][24]
Sapolsky's work has been featured widely in the press, most notably in the
Sapolsky has vigorously argued for a deterministic view of human behavior. According to him, "there is no free will, or at least that there is much less free will than generally assumed when it really matters".[39] He argues human actions are determined by neurobiology, hormones, childhood, and life circumstances.[22][40][41]
Sapolsky has received numerous honors and awards for his work, including a
In 2007, he received the
In 2008, he received
His conferences and talks are published on Stanford's YouTube channel.[49]
Personal life
Sapolsky is married to Lisa Sapolsky, a doctor in neuropsychology. They have two children.[4] Sapolsky was a passionate amateur soccer player and used to play twice a week, but he stopped due to back problems.[50]
In his book Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will, Sapolsky discussed his personal experiences with depression, revealing the complexities of living with the condition while also highlighting moments of relief provided by medication.[51]
Books
- Stress, the Aging Brain, and the Mechanisms of Neuron Death (ISBN 0-262-19320-5
- ISBN 0-8050-7369-8
- The Trouble with Testosterone: And Other Essays on the Biology of the Human Predicament (ISBN 978-0-6848-3409-2
- Junk Food Monkeys (ISBN 978-0-7472-7676-0(UK edition of The Trouble with Testosterone)
- ISBN 0-7432-0247-3
- ISBN 0-7432-6015-5
- ISBN 1-5942-0507-8
- ISBN 978-0525560975
See also
- Animal psychopathology
- Hans Selye
- Mental health of Jesus
- Paul Radin
- Walter Bradford Cannon
- Whitehall Study
References
- ^ "Robert Sapolsky at Stanford".
- ^ Hanson, E. Simon (January 5, 2001). "A Conversation With Robert Sapolsky". Brain Connection. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
BC: Who were your greatest mentors? RS: Of people I've actually dealt with, ... the main person is an anthropologist/physician named Melvin Konnor ... . He ... was my advisor in college and remains a major mentor.
- ^ "Robert Sapolsky". Retrieved February 22, 2009.
- ^ a b c Brown, Patricia Leigh (April 19, 2001). "At home with: Dr. Robert M. Sapolsky; Family Man With a Foot In the Veld". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
- ISBN 978-1-4165-9036-1.
- ^ Vaughan, Christopher (November 2001). "Going Wild A biologist gets in touch with his inner primate". Stanford Magazine. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
- ^ Shwartz, Mark (March 7, 2007). "Robert Sapolsky discusses physiological effects of stress". News. Stanford University. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
- ^ "Dr. Robert Sapolsky's lecture about Biological Underpinnings of Religiosity". YouTube.
I was raised in an extremely religious Orthodox upbringing and I had a break with it when I was about fourteen. That process of completely breaking to the point now where I have no religion, have no spirituality, I'm utterly atheist, and in passing it is probably the thing I most regret in my life but is something I appear not to be able to change the process of getting to that point I view in retrospect as one of the most defining things in my life, the process of turning into that person from who I was.
- ^ a b Sapolsky, Robert (April 2003). "Belief and Biology". Freedom from Religion Foundation. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
- ^ a b "Sapolsky Lectures on Stress and Health, Oct. 28 in Masur Auditorium - The NIH Record -October 16, 2009". nihrecord.nih.gov.
- ^ a b "Professor Robert Sapolsky Bio Page". www.thegreatcourses.com.
- ^ Sapolsky 2007, p. 87.
- ^ Sapolsky 2007, pp. 87–88.
- ^ Sapolsky 2007, p. 88.
- ^ "Transcript of How I Write Conversation with Robert Sapolsky". Stanford University. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
- ^ "Stanford Univ. detail of Prof. Sapolsky". Retrieved July 27, 2007.
- ISBN 0262193205.
- ^ "Robert Sapolsky". Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA). UC San Diego. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
- ^ a b "Rockefeller University names Robert Sapolsky 2008 Lewis Thomas Prize winner". Rockefeller University News. May 19, 2009. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
- PMID 2294581.
- ^ "The Brain on the Stand," New York Times Magazine
- ^ PMID 15590619.
- ISBN 978-0-684-83409-2.
- YouTube
- ^ "Stress: Portrait of a Killer". Stress: Portrait of a Killer. Stanford University, National Geographic. 2008. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
- ^ Springer, Michael (August 22, 2012). "Do Yourself a Favor and Watch Stress: Portrait of a Killer (with Stanford Biologist Robert Sapolsky)". openculture.com. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
- ^ Angier, Natalie (April 13, 2004). "No Time for Bullies: Baboons Retool Their Culture". New York Times Archives. New York Times Company. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
- ^ Lehrer, Jonah (July 28, 2010). "Under Pressure: The Search for a Stress Vaccine". Wired Magazine. Wired.com. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
- ^ Vaughan, Christopher (November–December 2001). "Going Wild". Stanford University Magazine. Stanford University. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
- ^ "Racism, inequality, and conflict: an interview with Prof. Robert Sapolsky". Tehran Times. July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
- ^ "People - Robert Sapolsky - Radiolab". www.radiolab.org. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
- ^ Joe Rogan (October 18, 2017), Joe Rogan Experience #965 - Robert Sapolsky, archived from the original on May 26, 2017, retrieved March 20, 2018
- ^ "Human Behavioral Biology (Robert Sapolsky) 25 lectures". YouTube. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
- ^ Sapolsky, Robert (May 9, 2017), The biology of our best and worst selves, retrieved March 20, 2018
- ^ Sapolsky, Robert (January 8, 2010), The uniqueness of humans, retrieved March 20, 2018
- ^ Vasquez, Alejandra; et al. (April 27, 2017). "Bugs and bodies: The talks of Session 8 of TED2017". TED Blog: Further reading on ideas worth spreading. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- ^ "Robert Sapolsky: The biology of our best and worst selves". TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. April 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- ISBN 9780525560975.
- ^ Reese, Hope (October 18, 2023). "A Conversation With: Robert Sapolsky Doesn't Believe in Free Will. (But Feel Free to Disagree.)". The New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
- ISBN 978-1-594-20507-1.
- ^ "MacArthur Fellows List - July 1987". Archived from the original on April 19, 2008. Retrieved March 24, 2008.
- ^ "Talk to probe roots of stress (03/16/07)". mc.vanderbilt.edu. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
- ^ "Science writer Robert Sapolsky to speak about coping with stress April 10". Middlebury. December 17, 2009. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
- ^ "About AAAS: John McGovern Lecture". Retrieved February 22, 2009.
- ^ "Sagan Prize Recipients". wonderfest.org. 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
- ^ "Honorary FFRF Board Announced". ffrf.org. Archived from the original on December 17, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
- ^ "Emperor Has No Clothes Award -- Robert Sapolsky". Freedom From Religion Foundation. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
- ^ 1. Introduction to Human Behavioral Biology, retrieved June 5, 2022
- ^ 17. Human Sexual Behavior III & Aggression I, retrieved February 11, 2022
- Penguin Press. p. 389.
At some point in this writing process, I was struck with what seemed like the explanation for why I've been able to stick with an unshakable rejection of free will, despite the bummers of feelings it can evoke. A point made earlier in the chapter is personally very relevant. Since my teenage years, I've struggled with depression. Now and then, the meds work great and I'm completely free of it, and life seems like hiking above the tree line on a spectacular snow-capped mountain. This most reliably occurs when I'm actually doing that with my wife and children. Most of the time, though, the depression is just beneath the surface, kept at bay by a toxic combination of ambition and insecurity, manipulative shit, and a willingness to ignore who and what matter. And sometimes it incapacitates me, where I mistake every seated person as being in a wheelchair and every child I glance at as having Down syndrome.
Works cited
- Sapolsky, Robert M. (2007). A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons (reprint ed.). New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4165-9036-1.
External links
- Robert Sapolsky profile at Stanford School of Medicine
- Robert Sapolsky at IMDb
Video courses
- Your Evolved Brain Is at the Mercy of Your Reptilian Impulses and Vice Versa
- Sapolsky, Robert. Human Behavioral Biology, 25 lectures (Last 2 lectures were not taped / included in the official Stanford playlist but older versions/tapings of those lectures are available here).
- Sapolsky, Robert (2010). Stress and Your Body. Chantilly, VA: The Teaching Company. ISBN 978-1-59803-680-0..
- Sapolsky, Robert. Being Human: Life Lessons from the Frontiers of Science.
- Sapolsky, Robert. Biology and Human Behavior: The Neurological Origins of Individuality, 2nd Edition.