A Historic Free Will Debate: Robert Sapolsky vs Peter Tse

In this landmark dialogue, Houshivar Podcast-hosts two of the world’s most influential thinkers on the science and philosophy of human agency: 🔹 Prof. Robert Sapolsky — neuroendocrinologist at Stanford, author of Determined, and one of the most well-known scientific voices arguing that free will is an illusion. According to Sapolsky, every decision emerges from biology, genes, environment, developmental history, and chance. If nothing could have happened otherwise, then traditional moral responsibility collapses. 🔹 Prof. Peter Ulric Tse — Professor and Chair of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth College, author of The Neural Basis of Free Will. Tse argues for a libertarian, neuroscientific model of free will, based on “criterial causation”: the idea that the brain can set internal criteria to select among possibilities, allowing genuine agency, creativity, and responsibility. This debate explores the deepest questions at the intersection of neuroscience, physics, ethics, and law: • Are human choices fully determined? • Can internal neural dynamics break symmetry and create real alternatives? • What counts as “control” in a physical brain? • How should society think about punishment, justice, and rehabilitation if free will does—or does not—exist? • What are the implications for criminal law, mental health, and personal responsibility? A rare encounter between a deterministic neuroscientist and a libertarian neuroscientist, offering clarity, disagreement, and deep scientific insight. To continue the global conversation on agency, morality, and the human mind, follow Houshivar Podcast. Dr. Mehdi Shafa, Biologist, Geneticist and Cell and Gene Therapy Specialist is Podcast host.