S2. Ep 4 - Does willpower even exist?
Chris wonders how easily we can harness willpower to make changes in our lives or if it鈥檚 an elusive concept. Xand can鈥檛 find the willpower to get on his exercise bike.
Most of us would like something about ourselves or our lives to be different, but how easy is it to actually change?
Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken are looking at whether people can change and how they do it. Exactly how much of any aspect of personality is genetic destiny and how much are we shaped by the world around us?
Chris wants to be a better doctor, friend, husband and father. But most urgently he wants to be a better brother, and is determined to improve his relationship with Xand. They鈥檙e best friends and talk to each other every day, but they are also business partners who find it very hard to work together without having a visceral row.
Chris wants to change how he relates to his brother and believes it is possible, but Xand is less convinced that we can or that he needs to change. In this series, Chris confronts that pessimism.
In episode 4 - Does Willpower Even Exist? - Chris examines the slippery concept of willpower. Is it something that we all need in order to make personal change and if so, can Chris harness it to encourage Xand to make changes in their relationship? Xand is preoccupied with his exercise bike which stands unused and dusty in his house, can he find the motivation to use it? The psychologist and psychoanalyst Dr Stephen Blumenthal explains willpower in the brain - when does and doesn鈥檛 it work?
Presented by Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken
Produced by Hester Cant and Alexandra Quinn
Series Editor Jo Rowntree
A Loftus Media and van Tulleken Brothers Ltd production for 麻豆社 Radio 4
Last on
Broadcasts
- Tue 27 Dec 2022 15:30麻豆社 Radio 4
- Wed 28 Dec 2022 21:00麻豆社 Radio 4
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Podcast
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A Thorough Examination with Drs Chris and Xand
Drs Chris and Xand explore the science of exercise and the dangers of inactivity.