# Why Do Most People Avoid Clinical Depression by Robert Sapolsky > “Given the nature of life, the purposeless indifference of the universe, and our complete lack of free will, how is it that most people avoid ever being clinically depressed?” > **— Robert Sapolsky**, *2018 Edge Annual Question, question* ## Sources and Context - **Direct publication and locator:** [The Last Question — Robert Sapolsky](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/27422) — single question in the 2018 Annual Question response. - **Exact original excerpt:** “Given the nature of life, the purposeless indifference of the universe, and our complete lack of free will, how is it that most people avoid ever being clinically depressed?” - **Context and editing:** This is Robert Sapolsky's question, not an asserted answer. - **Local Edge archive:** [[research/Edge 2018 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2018 Full Quotation Curation]], response EDGE2018-282. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Greatest Transformation in Human History|The Greatest Transformation in Human History]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Human Animality|Human Animality]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Human Animality|Human Animality]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Given the nature of life, the purposeless indifference of the universe, and our complete lack of free will, how is it that most people avoid ever being clinically depressed?” — Robert Sapolsky, 2018 Edge Annual Question, question https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-robert-sapolsky-most-people-avoid-clinical-depression ```