Basically, the next step involves you and me and other readers supporting, perhaps even agitating for (Dare I say “campaigning for”?) establishing more university behaviorology programs and departments. We all require these to meet growing needs. (See the wanted poster at the end of this column, and show it to those people who are in positions to help.)
Behavior passivity refers to the nature of behavior, all behavior, including all human behavior, of any type or level of complexity. Like all real events in nature, on this planet, in this universe, behavior is natural, that is, it comprises natural events. It is an inevitable reaction.
Many major businesses offer jobs, under various names, for “sustainability staff and managers.” Holders of a four–year bachelor’s degree in sustainability, one that includes a major in the natural science of behaviorology along with basic familiarity with all the other foundation natural sciences (i.e., physics, chemistry, and biology) would make exceptionally capable staff.
We have now come just about full circle. People’s increased understanding of behaviorology makes them move to apply it to the widest range of humanity’s individual and group concerns, using the behaviorological technologies that we can derive from the principles and concepts of this natural science of behavior. How can we help this happen?
For problems at the individual level, solutions reinforce the behaviors that produced them. Then the behaviors that solve problems serve as models for the behaviors of others that share the problems. That is, the occurrences of reinforcing solutions for some individuals function as evocative stimuli for the imitative solution behaviors of other individuals. When contingencies on the group make these solution practices become widespread across a group, they begin to affect the group as a group, often becoming socially institutionalized (e.g., formal education of individual group members).
Beyond its immediate domain, behaviorology coordinates with other natural–science disciplines and even overlaps with some of these. Understanding these overlaps helps build our interconnected perspective.
That larger context involves three different and overlapping disciplinary levels of evolution. These result from three different but related kinds of selection. And all three kinds of selection involve consequences of one sort or another. So the context of all our column topics exists as three kinds of evolution through selection by consequences.
The behaviorology discipline also makes contributions to the capabilities of other natural scientists. As mentioned previously, after becoming basically familiar with behaviorology, scientists in many disciplines are more able to remain naturalistic in dealing with subject matters at the edge of, and beyond, their particular specializations. Perhaps you are such a scientist.
Unsurprisingly, many topics regarding robot life reflect human concerns. This column begins looking at some such topics of robot life. These topics include emotions and feelings, energy sources, reproduction, pre–installed experience, planned diversity, humor, social life, and quality of life considerations.
We can share and apply more than morals about what we have discovered regarding human nature and human behavior. We may finally be arriving at some scientifically, as well as emotionally, satisfactory and difference–making answers across science disciplines working to solve human problems.
