authors:
- Tomasello, Michael
content: 'Michael Tomasello is an unusual scientist who does not shy away from the
big questions. His new book is short and written with admirable clarity. He marshals
both empirical and philosophical evidence to support his hypothesis on the evolution
of agency in animals. Agency is the active approach that higher animals take to
the problem of surviving. The paradigm of stimulus/response that is sometimes used
to analyse this activity is hopelessly inadequate, in Tomasello''s view. He posits
a number of stages in the evolution of agency, where humans have reached the stage
of socially normative agents, in which culture and norms are an essential part of
our ecological niche.
A basic building block for all kinds of agency is the feedback control model. The
organism has goals, and it monitors the environment and its own actions to improve
the attainment of those goals. The basic driving force for the evolution of higher
levels of agency was the increase in uncertainty in the environment due to competition
and predation from other animals. A kind of arms race ensued. With each stage in
the evolution of agency, another level of control is added at a higher level.
The first stage of agency involved flexible, context-sensitive behavior and learning,
and involves attention to goal-relevant situations. The early vertebrates, modeled
by current lizards, are hypothesized to have this level of goal-directed agency.
The next level, intentional agents, was probably reached by ancients mammals, corresponding
to modern squirrels and rats. Due to increased competition with other goal-driven
animals (including its own species and group), the ability to form a plan, an intention,
evolved. This meant a degree of control of the lower-level goal-oriented behavior,
adding more room for learning. An executive tier of decision-making and cognitive
control was the means.
The third level reached by the ancient apes, probably similar to today''s chimpanzees,
was that of rational agents. By comparing plans and simulating in the mind various
alternative actions, apes could begin to act logically and reflectively. The benefit
to the individual was to understand how and why other individuals (conspecifics)
acted as they did, and to anticipate their future moves. This required another executive
tier, the reflective tier, which made it possible for apes to attribute mental states
to others. An understanding of causality was also part of this development.
And finally, the fourth stage, ancient humans. Here new levels of social interaction,
collaboration and competition became the driving force for development of joint
agency in collaboration. Two persons agreeing to act together in a task, entailing
commitment and role-taking. The collaboration of humans became obligate, i.e. it
became a necessary mode of life. The selection for cooperatively competent and motivated
individuals became very strong. Self-regulation in this social collaborative environment
became essential, and the urge to make others conform developed as a response. Norms
were born. Another level of executive control was added to regulate joint agency.
Culture, morality and collective agency thus evolved out of the need for better
collaboration. "Human social relationships in general ... derive from the fundamentally
cooperative nature of human social relationships." Once culture became important,
it drove evolution by making cultural groups into coherent units of natural selection.
Modern cultural groups have become collective agencies. This in turn explains the
very strong in-group/out-group psychology of humans.
The need to look out for our individual interests, at the same time as we want to
collaborate with others, is the fundamental reason why we humans experience true
moral conflicts. We inhabit an objective-normative world, where norms are human
creations, and yet have objective existence.
I find Michael Tomasello''s hypothesis to be bold and extremely interesting. It
makes sense of, and puts into perspective, the importance that norms and culture
have for humans. The role of evolutionary thinking in social, political and ethical
thinking is clearly growing.'
date: '2022-12-18'
edition:
published: '2022'
publisher: The MIT Press
goodreads: '59381689'
html: '<p>Michael Tomasello is an unusual scientist who does not shy away from the
big questions. His new book is short and written with admirable clarity. He marshals
both empirical and philosophical evidence to support his hypothesis on the evolution
of agency in animals. Agency is the active approach that higher animals take to
the problem of surviving. The paradigm of stimulus/response that is sometimes used
to analyse this activity is hopelessly inadequate, in Tomasello''s view. He posits
a number of stages in the evolution of agency, where humans have reached the stage
of socially normative agents, in which culture and norms are an essential part of
our ecological niche.</p>
<p>A basic building block for all kinds of agency is the feedback control model.
The organism has goals, and it monitors the environment and its own actions to improve
the attainment of those goals. The basic driving force for the evolution of higher
levels of agency was the increase in uncertainty in the environment due to competition
and predation from other animals. A kind of arms race ensued. With each stage in
the evolution of agency, another level of control is added at a higher level.</p>
<p>The first stage of agency involved flexible, context-sensitive behavior and learning,
and involves attention to goal-relevant situations. The early vertebrates, modeled
by current lizards, are hypothesized to have this level of goal-directed agency.</p>
<p>The next level, intentional agents, was probably reached by ancients mammals,
corresponding to modern squirrels and rats. Due to increased competition with other
goal-driven animals (including its own species and group), the ability to form a
plan, an intention, evolved. This meant a degree of control of the lower-level goal-oriented
behavior, adding more room for learning. An executive tier of decision-making and
cognitive control was the means.</p>
<p>The third level reached by the ancient apes, probably similar to today''s chimpanzees,
was that of rational agents. By comparing plans and simulating in the mind various
alternative actions, apes could begin to act logically and reflectively. The benefit
to the individual was to understand how and why other individuals (conspecifics)
acted as they did, and to anticipate their future moves. This required another executive
tier, the reflective tier, which made it possible for apes to attribute mental states
to others. An understanding of causality was also part of this development.</p>
<p>And finally, the fourth stage, ancient humans. Here new levels of social interaction,
collaboration and competition became the driving force for development of joint
agency in collaboration. Two persons agreeing to act together in a task, entailing
commitment and role-taking. The collaboration of humans became obligate, i.e. it
became a necessary mode of life. The selection for cooperatively competent and motivated
individuals became very strong. Self-regulation in this social collaborative environment
became essential, and the urge to make others conform developed as a response. Norms
were born. Another level of executive control was added to regulate joint agency.</p>
<p>Culture, morality and collective agency thus evolved out of the need for better
collaboration. "Human social relationships in general ... derive from the fundamentally
cooperative nature of human social relationships." Once culture became important,
it drove evolution by making cultural groups into coherent units of natural selection.
Modern cultural groups have become collective agencies. This in turn explains the
very strong in-group/out-group psychology of humans.</p>
<p>The need to look out for our individual interests, at the same time as we want
to collaborate with others, is the fundamental reason why we humans experience true
moral conflicts. We inhabit an objective-normative world, where norms are human
creations, and yet have objective existence.</p>
<p>I find Michael Tomasello''s hypothesis to be bold and extremely interesting.
It makes sense of, and puts into perspective, the importance that norms and culture
have for humans. The role of evolutionary thinking in social, political and ethical
thinking is clearly growing.</p>
'
isbn: '9780262047005'
language: en
lastmod: '2022-12-18'
path: /library/tomasello-2022.html
published: '2022'
rating: 5
reference: Tomasello 2022
reviewed: '2022-12-18'
subjects:
- evolution
- morality
- philosophy
- science
title: 'The Evolution of Agency: Behavioral Organization from Lizards to Humans'
type: book
year: 2022