Book part:

The Pigeon in the Machine. The Concept of Control in Behaviorism and Cybernetics

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.