Book part: The Pigeon in the Machine. The Concept of Control in Behaviorism and Cybernetics
Author(s):
Abstract
Behaviorism, like cybernetics, is based on a recursive
(feedback) model, known in biology as reinforcement.
Skinner’s description of operant behavior in animals
is similar to Wiener’s description of information loops.
Behaviorism and cybernetics have often shared more
than an uncanny affinity: during World War II, both
Wiener and Skinner worked on research projects for
the U.S. military. While Wiener was attempting to
develop his Anti-Aircraft Predictor (a machine that
was supposed to anticipate the trajectory of enemy
planes), Skinner was trying to develop a pigeon-guided
missile. This essay retraces the social and political history
of behaviorism, cybernetics, and the concepts of
entropy and order in the life sciences.
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