We just finished up the first 70 pages of Behave by Robert Sapolsky in book club and had a fantastic discussion last Tuesday evening. Here’s what we spoke about:
Everything from a violent outburst to a craving for Oreos is rooted in biology—but never biology alone. We explored how the brain is layered like an archaeological site (from lizard-like reflexes to lofty thoughts) and how the amygdala—a tiny almond-shaped structure—pulls double duty managing fear and aggression.
We learned that dopamine doesn’t just make us feel good—it fuels our motivation and disappoints us regularly. And maybe most unsettling: the same brain regions involved in planning your grocery list are active when deciding whether to sacrifice one person to save five in a trolley problem.
Sapolsky warns against tidy answers. Is aggression biological? Cultural? Psychological? His answer: yes. All at once. It’s complicated—but so are we.