Free Will — Are You the Boss of You? Puppies, Bats, and Meerkats May Show the Way
Nicolas Perony is a scientist who studies animal behavior and extrapolates intriguing observations from his work. In 2014, he gave a Ted Talk entitled: Puppies! Now that I’ve Got Your Attention, Complexity Theory.
Like many people, I got hooked by the title of his talk, and watched. It creatively illustrates something called complexity theory, which in turn caused me to recall something from my undergraduate psychology (not bad since 23 trips around the sun have occurred since) and how this may apply to our daily lives and security. Here goes.
Nicolas Perony discussed complexity theory and social complexity. He illustrated these concepts with examples of social priorities and interactions of two different types of animals. These were Bechstein’s Bats and Meerkats.
Perony pondered the small size of bats’ brains and how, notwithstanding this cognitive limitation, they organize complex social bonds and groups. Using an example of two bat colonies that merged following a population loss due to a severe winter, Perony offered the explanation that simple association rules, unconsciously chosen by bats, account for the behaviors we observe. Sensing that the numbers of their two colonies had dwindled, the bats intuitively adjusted and merged to create a single but stronger and more social colony.
Building on things learned from the bats, Perony added an example from his research of organized groups of Meerkats and the manner in which they approach and cross a man-made road in Southern Africa. A dominant female leads these interesting animals. As a group they make unconscious associations and take certain actions that serve to protect the leader from needless danger. She coordinates activities to reduce her personal risk. Perony attributes these near spontaneous judgments to ages of evolutionary adaptation. However, the Meerkats can apply these ancient abilities to manage modern risk presented in the form of a busy and dangerous roadway.
Perony concluded by stating, “Simplicity leads to Complexity, which leads to Resilience”. He confined this conclusion to animals and did not take the next step to apply the logic to humans. He even said that at times, it is dangerous to draw parallels between behaviors of humans and animals.
Recall the famous psychologist B.F. Skinner (1904–1990) who is considered the father of operant conditioning.
Skinner asserted that neither animals nor humans possessed free will and that our environments shape every behavior, no matter how subtle. Attached is a link to a short example of one of Skinner’s experiments followed by a brief interview with him.
He emphasizes a concept called “scheduled reinforcement” (or reward) which is a process by which a reward may be offered at predetermined times upon receipt of a desired behavior. He drew parallels between this and gambling behaviors (players of slots or other gambling devices) in humans via a schedule of reinforcement called the variable ratio schedule. While the reinforcement (or reward) is very infrequent while gambling, it occurs just often enough to cause gamblers to continue to play the slot machines. Based upon the schedule for the reinforcement influencing them they could not choose to stop gambling. At three minutes into the video, Skinner is asked about the concept of free will and he summarily dismisses it as a fictional concept, stating that external reasons shape every human behavior. I always found this concept to be rather dark and unappealing. However, Skinner has had many adherents over the years and if he were alive today, I presume he would be interested in Nicolas Perony’s research.
I think B.F. Skinner would eagerly make the argument that Perony’s research applies equally to humans. If Skinner was correct about human behavior, does it mean that humans are predisposed to fight wars, engage in conflict, and engage in barbaric interpersonal or group violence due to prevailing evolutionary tactics or schedules of reinforcement? Are we unable to use our vast intellects to make a conscious leap out of this evolutionary cycle? I believe we are, and consequently reject B.F. Skinner’s conclusions regarding human free will. However, accepting Perony’s assertions regarding complexity theory as it applies to animal behavior is valuable to us because it illuminates broader ideas about the manner in which complexity theory may help us understand and navigate our social world. Our powers of observation lead to new questions and new conclusions. There seems to be an opportunity here. Going forward, how can we apply complexity theory to matters related to homeland security and the “real world”?
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