December Newsletter | Determinism vs. Free Will
Simple and efficient thought-leadership and knowledge sharing
TWM Podcast Recap
Last month we had great conversations with two epic startup founders + thought leaders, Scott Britton and Andrew Horn.
Intuition and Purpose with startup founder Scott Britton (link)
Scott built and sold a technology company, Troops AI, to Salesforce. In this episode, he shares his reflections on how his relationship with success has changed over time and what has brought him the most meaning and fulfillment.
Representative Clip: Ascribing worth to others and a definition of success (1 minute)
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.
Relational Leadership with Tribute founder Andrew Horn (link)
Forbes called Andrew the “Dale Carnegie for the Digital Age”. Andrew founded a online video montage company called Tribute before shifting his focus to full time speaking and coaching. He is pioneering many concepts including relational leadership and social flow that allow people to bring their full selves to the world while giving others in their lives permission to do the same.
Representative Clip: Authenticity as an act of service (1 minute)
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.
What I’m Reading
How Can Determinists Believe in Free Will? By Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, November 6, 2023
A review and commentary on Stanford neurobiologist Robert M. Sapolsky’s new book Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will. According Sapolsky determinism means that human beings don’t really make choices and that even moral judgments like blame or praise are based on an illusion.
I couldn’t tell from the article whether Sapolsky’s work is meant to be thought provoking or if it’s actually what he believes. Regardless Krishnan’s article and the basis of Sapolsky’s work is thought-provoking.
How do you reconcile determinism with the perception of free will?
Something to Think About
“I discovered that when I believed my thoughts, I suffered, but that when I didn’t believe them, I didn’t suffer, and that this is true for every human being. Freedom is as simple as that. I found that suffering is optional. I found a joy within me that has never disappeared, not for a single moment. That joy is in everyone, always.” ― Byron Katie, A Thousand Names for Joy
