Can we condition ourselves to be heroes? | Robert Sapolsky
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- čas přidán 5. 02. 2023
- Neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky on the science of temptation, and the limitations of your brain’s frontal cortex.
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Ever hear the expression "it's all in your mind"? Well, according to Robert Sapolsky all the negativity in the world might all be coming from one part of the brain: the frontal cortex. The science of temptation runs parallel to the science of why people make "bad" decisions.
Sapolsky explains how active the frontal cortex can be in some people when they have the opportunity to do a bad thing... and how calm it can be in other people when presented with a similar situation.
Performing full-frontal lobotomies on the world's population to rid the world of negativity isn't exactly in the cards-but understanding the basis of the world's problems on a scientific (not to mention cranial level) might help make future generations much more adept at stopping humanity's biggest mistakes.
Read the full video transcript: bigthink.com/videos/temptatio...
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between two ferns has changed so much
Lmao😂😂😂
I just laughed out loud. Thanks!
I don't understand how people can be that funny. It's really funny
Spit out my tea 😂
This fellow has a great lecture series on behavioral biology that you can find here on youtube.
Link: czcams.com/video/NNnIGh9g6fA/video.html
@@The-Well
Literally the best series of videos i have ever watched, thanks
@@The-Well Very Kind of You.
To those with a time constraint, Behave by Sapolsky covers most of the same material.
This reminds me of my friend ive known since a kid. He was always great at school, never struggled he always went home after school and the first thing he did was eat something then do his homework. Then go out and play with us or log online for games. Its been these recent few years where i have kept wondering and asking him how he does it so easily? When for me, if i know im supposed to study for the SATs i just have it infront of me and say like, ahh il do it after these 2 episodes of hunterxhunter..
So struggling w that ive kept asking him and his answe has always been " what do you mean? I. Just. do. it. If i know its meant to be done and its something i prioritize, then i just do it. before anything else"
And this video kinda touches exactly on that. Having principles. JUST DOING IT shia labeouf style
Your friend should star in a Nike commercial.
@@kuyab9122 Dawg, he is training for a marathon now aswell hahah. He really is always doing his best
hunter x hunter is amazing can't blame you
Watch the episode after you reach an attainable-but-not-stupidly-easy goal
You can start with stupidly easy goals to get yourself going on it, then slowly ramp up your goals to where they need to be, then you'll be rewarded after
@bonquva One has to prioritize what one is doing. If the SAT doesn't really matter to you, then you'll never reach your full potential on the test.
Now the interesting question is: Why are these people like that?
We evolved as group creatures. Good for the goose yo.
They were probably raised in an environment where not cheating was ingrained in them.
It's the practice of giving. Being loving so that we feel good, to feel like I'm full of love.
It's as simple as being happy just so others might remember to be happy when they see you. That's one way it can start. Blessed are the meek.
We have our own authority to dictate what is right in any situation. The mind often will persuade you in the opposite direction just for the enjoyment of how X(cheating) feels. Even though it also feels terrible.
If I know it's wrong but I'm thinking, do it anyways, then isn't there a higher authority than the thinking faculty?
If not, why are we not intimate with ourselves?
When they take risks others think WOooOAAh, but when we take risks they think DuMb...
Dr. Sapolsky is awesome, always enjoy his videos.
So there really is a fine line between bravery and stupidity.
I have just discover Professor Sapolsky. It is so interesting. It is never too late !
Living in grace. A higher spirituality fostered by the sober awareness that we are not our thoughts and emotions, but instead, we are merely the awareness of them. The SELF is the awareness of our thoughts, not our thoughts themselves. Being present in the true SELF, in the eternal moment, allows all temptation to be revealed for what it truly is: irrelevant.
Thank you for sharing
People think denying free will is cold and devoid of humanity. What I have learned and intuited from Harris and Sapolsky on that matter is quite the opposite! The idea of free will being an illusion is an invitation to lower our judgments of others and to be ready to behave well. It should prompt people to forgive critically and to influence others positively. It's about nurturing and having compassion.
Instead, people debate whether I say that out of free will or not, as if it mattered! They seem to assume it implies a rejection of responsibility, accountability. Whether free will is true or not, we will pay for our actions! The only difference is how we should judge people and the type of consequence we "inflict".
Really interesting perspective, thanks for sharing!
Totally agree, people seem to think choice is freewill, 90% of the time we run autonomously with no free will
"Whether free will is true or not, we will pay for our actions!"
I agree with some of what you said, but this is demonstrably wrong. Did Stalin and Mao pay for their actions? Other's may pay for our actions, but this idea that there's a cosmic level of karma or equilibrium seems quite false once you look closely at cases of extreme injustice, cheating, betrayal etc. I understand the temptation to "rally the people" is deceptively strong, but people must build their strength and goodness on truth and values, not feel-good delusions. When people don't they are left open to predation by evil, as seen plenty throughout human history. Judging people accurately means respecting every individual's capacity for evil, without overly patronizing them with our own suspension of disbelief (and in turn leaving ourselves open to exploitation just to appear good).
Also, I agree with the idea that consciously we likely do not have free will (which is supported by scientific studies thus far), I think there is a real case to be made that our unconscious minds have free will, not that free-will is an illusion entirely. So while "we" the conscious beings don't directly initiate or choose our actions (we're just along for the ride), we still do have a direct dialogue and influence on the part of ourselves that have free will.
This also partially correlates with your ideas on judgment, namely that judgment is at least a partial responsibility/asset of our consciousness. As best I can tell judgment is entirely post-hoc (after the event) which aligns with the possibility that consciousness lacks free-will. Judgment doesn't directly effect the future, it analyzes the past and intent/outcomes and can only be used to predict the likelihood of outcomes. Free-will does directly effect the future (but the complexity of chaos theory renders judgement infinitely obsolete in complex scenarios) and the unconscious/conscious mind have evolved a divide and conquer adaptation.
You can both believe in free will and be less judgmental.
"True charity consists in not being surprised at our neighbor's faults and being efified by his least virtues." St. Therese of Lisieux
She came from a millieu that understands charity and love as an act of the will.
@@benhudson4014
Might actually be 100%😊
that's so right. Every time I feel the impulse to do some good, my frontal lobe stops me. Works like a charm
😂😂😂
Another gem by Sapolsky.
As usual. As expected 👍.
I think it's deep rooted values.
I volunteer at a certain "heroic" organization. Mentally it wasn't a difficult decision to make. I wanted to do something where I'm not the beneficiary, so I signed up and took the role.
When my help is required, it's just automatic to respond. Exceptions can be made, sometimes I have very important things that can't be disturbed, but most of the time it's automatic to let go of what I'm doing and respond.
imo there will be a point in someone's life, when one feels secure enough, mentally and physically, that they start to think about what they could contribute beyond just for themselves.
Also, I very rarely ( can't say I don't or never ) cheat. It's just not something I do and I still want to have my integrity intact.
That makes sense. When you have, in essence, already made the decision in advance it makes it more automatic when the situation arises.
In other words 'practice'.
I don't even think you need to say "deep rooted", or maybe values are deep rooted by definition. In any case, we all have a code that we just go by automatically, even if we've never consciously constructed our code. It's necessary to have one, because things happen fast. Sometimes we encounter an new kind of situation not covered by our code. Then we usually freeze. I think that's most of the people just standing there when an accident happens.
You “very rarely cheat”? Seems to go against the whole automatic “we just don’t do that” thing he’s talking about…
This is exactly what I needed to hear. Thanks
I need to hear more from Robert on this subject please
and one of the most powerful way to do it automatic is through discipline: eat the right thing + exercise the right thing. In this way the willpower will become easy, or in other words will become automatic.
Take this bit of wisdom from an older person - in the latter part of your life, It's not so much the things that you did during your life that that bothers and gnaws at your conscience, but rather the things that you didn't do!
Surely it matters on what you did during your life?
How could something I didn't do, gnaw at my conscience?
@@antonyjh1234 Of course I agree with you here, I was talking about someone who led a decent life - not an evil person, but they probably don't have a conscience anyway. Psychopaths and sociopaths rarely do!
@@michaelbartlett6864 it could mean all people, no matter who you are have the things they didn't do that will "gnaw" at them, both decent and evil will always have things they didn't do and feel as though they could do more but I'm not so sure we should use the word gnaw, it promotes FOMO. A person could spend ten years partying and feel bad and another could feel bad because they didn't.
@@antonyjh1234 Yeah, sometimes it's those parties you didn't attend that bother you.
@@michaelbartlett6864 And sometimes it is.
im screenwritter, Robert Sapolsky classes, just change my life. Wise man. Loveyou.
Wish more could truly grasp the significance of this. Instead of expecting ppl to do amazing things against their desire not to it’s more effective to just make it an automatic response. It’s less heroic and glamorous to do the hard but right thing not because you chose to but because it was just automatic bit it’s more reliable. Instead of being self disciplined through understanding the significance of it or having lots of motivation you need the right environment and habits set up. Instead of expecting people to choose not to do harmful drugs or treat each other well out of wanting the benefits of that, just get them conditioned with the right habits to avoid going off the path they need to be on.
Ikr , it's conditioned from the very beginning , so is it too late now :( , i will always have to rely on willpower.
If only it were that simple. To build up that habit, you need to want to do the right thing in that situation in the first place. Not everyone really wants to jump into the dangerous water and risk their life to save someone -- and even if they did, I'm not sure how they would build up that habit. How do you build a habit of risking your life? No, you have to start with a person's values, which starts when they are a child or even before
one of my favorite lecturers 🙏🙏👍👍
Glad to hear that!
I Love this Guy!
This man needs to be heard and acted upon those who claim they are educationalists.
this is the best channel on youtube for me , underrated
Seems like the more we bring thought into it, the more effortful it gets and the more the chance of giving in, so to speak. But if we let the mind clear and let a choice come to us instead of trying to make one appear, we automatically choose the good, right thing.
looking into myself, it seems like the hard, prefrontal cortex thinking is not about morality, but trying to figure out how to get away with it, or how to have it both ways, or how to make excuses for not doing the right thing. It's not the superego trying to get me to do the right thing, it's the selfish part trying to not do it. So yea: The more I think, the more likely I am to find the excuse, rationalization, or otherwise clever solution that I'm looking for rather than doing the obvious right thing. Which is fine, because sometimes there really is a third option that's better overall
This is beautiful
Why am I like this?
Genius discussion
Thanks for the information
giving into instant gratification
finally I understant what they meant by Just Do It !
To an extent, willpower can change us in the changing of our exterior habits. What overcoming temptation really does is prime us to be more docile to the transformative power of grace.
amazing loved this video thanks :-)
Awesome video, thankyou TheWell! Keep up the awesome work. (Longtime Sapolsky fan here)
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed.
I think he's retired from Stanford 😭 it was a dream of mine to do a PhD under him
Awesome
Being diagnosed with ADHD, this is where I have the greatest challenges, difficulty in self-regulation.
Use intermittend fasting and keto diet to "cure" your ADHD according to Dr. Chris Palmer.
@@iche9373have ADHD, have tried both for years. They don't "cure" ADHD. If something sounds too good to be true, it most usually is.
@@b3tth0l3 it’s a shoe that doesnt fit anyone. Have you at least overcome obesity?
It's not a disease, it's a neuroatypical developmental process. Don't need a cure, just need to learn how to turn maladaptive behaviors into adaptive behaviors, with the help of therapies and accommodations. This is a skill that serves anyone well, whether they're neuroatypical or neurotypical.
@@iche9373 Yes, that should do it! Lol
People think doing the right thing is easy but it isn't. It's incredibly difficult and sometimes even puts your life in danger. Virtue isn't without price.
you prefrontal cortex is pulsating like mad right now
sometimes it is easy. but you still pay a price
@ZSd4cT can you elaborate on this actually? I know I have pfc damage.
His lectures on sociology are amazing
great explanation but you kept us hanging here doc, how does the graceful response develop, both emotionally and biologically, and is there a way to guide this development both in ourselves and to nudge the same in others.
fav!
This really resonates with how I’ve found some success with not viewing adult online ‘ahem! Content.
When I focused on applying effort or strategy during the moment of temptation, to do the right thing despite, I failed at it.
Once I started doing things to almost erase my awareness of it, live life as if I never knew it existed….I’ve found a lot more success.
Mr. Sapolsky’s presentation really correlated well with addicts experience of powerlessness doesn’t it ?
Aren't you putting effort in convincing yourself that a world without it exists? I honestly did not understand what he was trying to imply.
My impression is that the point is when you’re at the point of temptation , and have to make a choice to indulge or not, your chances aren’t so great?
Walking by the cookie jar and using self control Vs. Threw away the cookie jar two months ago and thinking about something else .
I understand it. Ppl with awareness to count their days, day by day, relapse. The difficulty is when the brain suddenly count it
@@baleshomat7599 It's very different. You are just dropping your awareness of it in that specific moment. It's doing 'nothing' (NOT recognizing something) instead of 'something' (recognizing that thing)
Let's not be a happening, a lucky chap who by inheritance got a brain that let's you passive to higher willpower and rest of us simply admire it.
I have been the most vulnerable to stress type of personality and the water signns by spirituality and most viable to any kind of addiction and i myself unknowingly caught up into substance and porn addiction like to the severe i spend like 18 hours a day on watching the most unbecoming of me to watch kinda stuffs later to fall into loop of regret and self sabotage.
Being spiritual and enneagram 4 , always tried and tried. Did therapy, did supplements after immense research, from Elliot hulse to mantak chia to kundlinii to even all esoteric methods , and praying to god's and what not. Finally i came out of it by a simple questionare and a diet and constant awareness a method which i by help of my subconscious got it. And now i came out of all addictions. If you want , trust me baby. I am there
this is extremely interesting, and the implications of that are significant.
Can you explain it to me? Still a bit confused?
So basically the answer is "no, you just do that".
So true
Great content, " Self human behavior discipline " education and practices are key to making the whole world a seriously much better place to live for all despite everyone's differences, regardless of beliefs political parties etc. We can all do much better daily.
So, you've totally missed the point.
@@RTL2LPlease explain!!!
@@Ra-cx2pn His point and the experiment he mentions are saying that "Self discipline" doesn't work. 4:56
@@RTL2L Untrue.
Version X, legitimate empirical influences of the Mind-Body manifestation probability, and attribution of memory associations.., that keeps Scientists observing the inside-outside presence of resonant coherence-cohesion universal information In-form-ation.
Great video.
The Buddhists worked this out by asking what it would mean to be the master of one self.
And the answer is,
"Yes, but why would you want to?"
Personally I know when I’m being watched I stick to the rule but once I’m left alone (like at home for instance) that’s when I think I can “get away with things”. This ends up creating lack in confidence in ourselves and a sense of shame tho. “You can’t play others, you can only play yourself”
i think that's Freud's 'superego' idea. He thought it was the internalized version of your parents, but I think now we know it's largely innate
When you have God in your life you’re never alone 🫠🤫 (cue creepy church music)
But for real though, don’t waste your energy and esteem feeling ashamed when you don’t deserve that. Respect your privacy, refine your code, and accept your true nature- it makes playing with others much more fun 💯
Once and for all.
Sapolsky is the GOAT
What if ALL that we do was automatic? And some entity inside us only told us we were doing it ourselves. What ego is and where it resides is an open question. But mystic traditions tell us it can be overcome. Perfect paradox! And paradoxes seem to pop up at the junction between the finite and the infinite.
It seems the frontal cortex might be able to be activated through a combination of deep focus, deep breathing (through nose) and radical acceptance, practiced regularly. Hoping other people can try it
This is why film and tv with anti-heroes as protagonists are superior to lame hero stories. They actually reflect the human experience and are honest works of art. When you have moral dilemmas as focal climax plot points (Like most stories in general) the character is going to do the selfish BAD thing, while the altruistic GOOD things are just ingrained habits/rules that have become automatic impulses. AKA the opposite of dilemma, tension, peak, climax and so forth.
Maybe. Sometimes it also nice and cool to see people with strong moral principles who don't back down even when whole world, gods and fate against them. Never compromise, even in the face of Armageddon. That's chilling man, I can't do this, and I like seeing people doing badass things that I can't.
I think I was impressed like that twice or thrice total, and last time it was Shirou Emiya, anime/visual novel character from Fate franchise, who decided to be hero even knowing with certainty (from spirit of future self) he will be essentially crucified - betrayed, judged as criminal and left dying by same people he swore to protect, that's some Jesus Christ stuff man, odd type of insanity, alien mindset, you can speculate that such unreasonably heroic and altruistic people are the reason why humanity even worth salvation.
Or, on smaller and down to earth scale, this is maybe why our society isn't imploded yet, just people here and there doing their best for everyone around even if it costs them everything, you maybe see such people everyday and think that they're just useful gullible idiots, not even reflecting that they maybe silently carrying you right now on their shoulders.
does anyone have a link to the full talk?
These videos should be longer and more detailed.
Yep
When you are raised to be responsible, it's automatic to do 'heroic' things even though I think it's just something anybody can/should do.
risking your own life? I don't think that is, or at least that's not what most people would include in "being responsible"
@@ChannelMath Being heroic /responsible doesn't always mean you have to risk your life, most of the time it's about being quick and doing the right thing. There are also different levels of risks if you want to go there.
Interesting! So.. automatic in the sense of being habitual, or in the sense of being a personality trait they were born with?
More states of grace and sometimes amazing grace
How to develop that natural sense of willpower or grace?
WOW
Here's my resolution of Free Will. When I was a teenager, I was accepted to UCLA, UC Berkeley, and Florida. I chose the Gators because 2 of my friends were going there. If I'd chosen either of the others, my life would have been totally different. But not really, I've decided. The circumstances would have been different, but at age 67 I'd be in pretty much the same place whichever choice I made. That's also my argument against Hugh Everett. Branches fan out but then converge so it doesn't matter too much which choices you made.
Robert Sapolsky
The shirt answer is yes, I've done it😊
True discipline is the endeavor of morality, not will power. Most people won't understand this.
So... can we condition ourselves to be heroes?
So then it applies too to the ‘bad’ things we do ‘automatically’?
so does that mean the ability to automatically jump to save a situation predicts success in life? seem unrelated to me. is the question about being a good human or about achieving ?
people who act like that are doing so because it's part of their value system.
If I had to give up my life for my child I wouldn't think twice. "It's gotta be done", and that's it. That determination isn't something I calculate on the fly; it's something I've decided ahead of time and hard-wired in through my behaviors daily every time I put my children's needs ahead of mine.
By the time some event like that occurs in my life, that neural / behavioral pathway is a well worn path. Making that decision is just an extension of what I've been doing all along; just way more public to others.
so in short, people wire themselves like that through a value system they actively build over time.
Its my understanding also , i think its all about our value, self identity and self concept that we hold in ourselves. But the issue now is how we can build our value again if we comes from enviroment that completely opposite of the value that we trying to build. And not to mention it must take hard work and determination ,thats what makes people fail i guess, the incapable of holding determination. And ironically thats what my situation right now haha.
This is about a social strategy. Both outcomes have a chance to enhance their reputation amongst their social circle. Thus making either a male OR female more likely to procreate. It's automatic because it's biology.
I wonder if optimism and pessimism have any influence on decision making.
The most graceful person has the strongest will power!
Wait - I thought Sapolsky says there’s no free will. So what’s up with impulse control and temptation? Seems pretty inconsistent - am I wrong?
😮
5:05
I was about 7 (I think) when I encountered a situation where I could accumulate massive wealth (a couple cents). I was in the airport of italy, and woman dropped her purse. Several coins fell out, and she had missed a couple that she hadn't seen. For about 10 seconds I was eyeing it and didn't mention anything. I suppose those 10 seconds held my battle with satan, but I relented and told the woman that there were some coins there. For me, it wasn't a gut reaction or anything of that sort. I just thought it was wrong to take the money, probably due to my raising, though I still remember being a bit dissapointed when I pointed it out to the woman. Thinking back, if I had taken the money, my father would have taken it from me and given it to the woman, so the outcome wouldn't have changed
He looks like an ancient greek.
"My Legs just started moving” - Deku
What was the main subject of the video? I came here for the "Willpower & Temptation" in the thumbnail, but now it's talking about some good side of impulsivity and examples of heroic deeds from it. Like sure, but where the hell was this video going?
That willpower is not everything, and you can circumvent usage of this precious resource by being conditioned into doing "The Right Thing" like some Chinese in re-educational camp, and it will make your life much easier.
So how the heck do you find what you can just “do automatically”? That seems pretty close to finding what you were meant for. Imagine if you could just do your job automatically. How do I find something like that?
When wanting to find out what a person is really like, watch him when he thinks no one is watching him.
guess I’ll become a stalker to know people better
@@turolretarxD
anyone know the title/link to the study??
Sure! Here's a link to the text and figures published by Joshua Greene himself: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19622733/ and here's an article from Scientific American that summarizes the study in detail: www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-science-temptation/
@@The-Well thank you!!
I don't think it is more of a deep rooted valued or pre-defined default behaviour of a person to keep slacking off from the right thing and not doing what needs to be done , i think we can train our mind in certain way with our own understanding by defining the important work/thing to do which is right rather than slacking off and cheat in essence to this mindset we should have some kind of idea values and principles that we follow or person with the same ... this can be seen in armed forces (mostly of course not all) that before they were just like any other slack off kid but after certain period they are different with certain specific priorities , goals , principles , etc to follow , "We can" is the thing i believe so most folks can ...
My pre frontal cortex is rey mysterio. Amygdala is triple h and limbic system batista. There is never when a chance for the poor guy to even have a voice.
differences in neurology
see , it does take * TRAININ * since youth to resist the easy temptation
Yeah, like you train your cat not to piss on your shoes.
What should I type to find this in its entirety?
Hi there! We have one other video with Robert, which can be found here: czcams.com/video/A4_GpSok5VI/video.html. Enjoy!
Interesting it's probably why firemen run into burning buildings and soldiers move towards gun fire. They have all been conditioned that that's the right thing to do.
Good point. There's even a lot of stories about people who spring into action in emergencies (e.g. car accidents) being people who trained for other emergency situations (e.g. as volunteer lifeguards). When someone is trained to be the one acting in a crisis, that can become the reflex when one suddenly arises--even if it's not exactly the same.
Train your frontal cortex
Begs the question "How does it become automatic?"
By constant repetition? By internalizing it? Forcing brain run connection again and again until it will found the shortest way possible, which would be faster then your general consciousness, like how you flinch from flying into your face object faster than you form thought "oh, something is coming very fast to my face, maybe I should perform evasion maneuver?". There is reflexes we have from the very start of our life, there is reflexes we get growing up, and some of those reflexes are purely mental, not motor.
so overall you cant condition yourself to be a hero, because not being a hero by default soft-locks you from being one.
I recall like seeing a ball about to hit someone in slow motion and I should of acted instantly instead of thinking and observing
Or transend polar opposite cliches all together.
"This wonderful manipulative setup" 😂
Makes me wonder what to do with myself when I know that my moral qualities are questionable at best
save yourself the time
Do you guys think that those virtues and values can be trained?
While the frontal cortex might not be the best resource to make the harder but better choice right now, can it be trained for future occurrences?
Yes, as far as changing exterior habits are concerned. You are still your nature and nurture. But you can choose to do more functional and adaptive things rather than persisting in more dysfunctional and maladaptive things. Interior change, the change that makes you a better, healthier person who can have healthier relationships with others is done by grace.
I don't think this is quite right. I think when one may be initially deliberating whether something may be the right course of action or not can require a lot of thought, but then once determined any subsequent act can be mostly automatic.
thats because its not the brain of the hero its the soul
Ok, I'm lounging around, goofing off, and then the Algorithm guilts me into doing something productive!
Try it with naked tempting models in front of the participants and you'll see your automatic "you don't cheat" stuff ;)
It's all chemistry.
Chemistry is something we can change to a degree.