<p>I was cited in the above article and have recently argued that &quot;reactive&quot; nervous systems probably don't even exist, but that the impression arises from a bias inherent in many laboratory experiments. So far, there isn't even sufficient evidence for spinal reflexes being more reactive than active:
<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33317833/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33317833/</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-31T12:10:51.597Z
2022-01-31T12:10:51.597Z
Björn Brembs
<p>A few days ago I and my spouse were trying to convince our male cat to come and sit next to us on the sofa. Our cat seemed undecided between staying and coming and my spouse mentioned that he does only what he &quot;wants&quot; anyway.</p>
<p>I wondered if a cat (or an animal with similar brain development) is able to &quot;want&quot; something or the behavior is the result of a very sophisticated biologic algorithm (maybe something similar to deep neural networks) that takes into account genetic factors and environmental factors that basically produces very similar outcomes in similar situations.</p>
<p>I have managed to find <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2019.00164/full" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this article</a> that mentions the existence of purpose in animals (my emphasis):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There is a growing recognition that <strong>behavior is agentic, purposive</strong>
(Dickinson, 1985), <strong>generated endogenously by the animal</strong> (Edelman,
2016), and has an intrinsic <strong>spontaneity</strong> and <strong>indeterminacy</strong> (Maye et
al., 2007; Brembs, 2011). Such behavior can be based on internal
predictive models (Clayton et al., 2003; Suddendorf and Corballis,
2010; Corballis, 2013) involving subjective assessment of the animal's
state (Bubic et al., 2010; McNally et al., 2011; Clark, 2013)</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0952813X.2015.1042534" rel="nofollow noreferrer">One of the references</a> mentioned in the above article seems to confirm that animals with enough complex nervous systems are more agentic rather than reactive. I am not sure that &quot;agency&quot; is a good enough synonym for &quot;wanting&quot; though.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-29T16:31:34.253Z
I think this is more the realm of philosophy than psychology or neuroscience. Based on our best knowledge a cat's behavior is just it's brain reacting to external and internal stimuli, yes, a sophisticated neural network. Just like yours. Does it have agency? Do you? That's philosophy.
Bryan Krause
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-29T20:10:33.737Z
It sounds like your main question is not so much about *delayed gratification* or *instrumental complexity*, as the quoted text is essentially about, but rather about whether cats and similar animals have certain [qualia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualia), or conscious mental experiences. If the latter, [philosophy of mind](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_mind) would be a good place to begin; or you could ask on the [philosophy site](https://philosophy.stackexchange.com).
Michael
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-30T04:44:59.970Z
Philosophy of mind questions are on-topic here.  However, I recommend clarifying what you are interested in, as research psychology rarely contrasts "want" with "reactive".  Rather, "want" is more typically contrasted with "need" or "like", whereas "reactive" is contrasted with "proactive" or "strategic".  Usually when people say "cats do what they want", they are simply referring to the way cats are less motivated by human social rewards than dogs are.  Either way, asking a clear question improves the likelihood of a useful answer.
Arnon Weinberg
<animal-cognition><agent-based-modeling>
Does my cat ever "want" something or its behavior is mostly reactive?
Alexei
# Does my cat ever "want" something or its behavior is mostly reactive?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-01-29)

A few days ago I and my spouse were trying to convince our male cat to come and sit next to us on the sofa. Our cat seemed undecided between staying and coming and my spouse mentioned that he does only what he "wants" anyway.

I wondered if a cat (or an animal with similar brain development) is able to "want" something or the behavior is the result of a very sophisticated biologic algorithm (maybe something similar to deep neural networks) that takes into account genetic factors and environmental factors that basically produces very similar outcomes in similar situations.

I have managed to find [this article](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2019.00164/full) that mentions the existence of purpose in animals (my emphasis):

> There is a growing recognition that **behavior is agentic, purposive**
> (Dickinson, 1985), **generated endogenously by the animal** (Edelman,
> 2016), and has an intrinsic **spontaneity** and **indeterminacy** (Maye et
> al., 2007; Brembs, 2011). Such behavior can be based on internal
> predictive models (Clayton et al., 2003; Suddendorf and Corballis,
> 2010; Corballis, 2013) involving subjective assessment of the animal's
> state (Bubic et al., 2010; McNally et al., 2011; Clark, 2013)

[One of the references](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0952813X.2015.1042534) mentioned in the above article seems to confirm that animals with enough complex nervous systems are more agentic rather than reactive. I am not sure that "agency" is a good enough synonym for "wanting" though.

**Tags:** animal-cognition, agent-based-modeling

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I think this is more the realm of philosophy than psychology or neuroscience. Based on our best knowledge a cat's behavior is just it's brain reacting to external and internal stimuli, yes, a sophisticated neural network. Just like yours. Does it have agency? Do you? That's philosophy.  
> **username_2**: It sounds like your main question is not so much about *delayed gratification* or *instrumental complexity*, as the quoted text is essentially about, but rather about whether cats and similar animals have certain [qualia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualia), or conscious mental experiences. If the latter, [philosophy of mind](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_mind) would be a good place to begin; or you could ask on the [philosophy site](https://philosophy.stackexchange.com).  
> **username_3**: Philosophy of mind questions are on-topic here.  However, I recommend clarifying what you are interested in, as research psychology rarely contrasts "want" with "reactive".  Rather, "want" is more typically contrasted with "need" or "like", whereas "reactive" is contrasted with "proactive" or "strategic".  Usually when people say "cats do what they want", they are simply referring to the way cats are less motivated by human social rewards than dogs are.  Either way, asking a clear question improves the likelihood of a useful answer.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2022-01-31. Score: 3

I was cited in the above article and have recently argued that "reactive" nervous systems probably don't even exist, but that the impression arises from a bias inherent in many laboratory experiments. So far, there isn't even sufficient evidence for spinal reflexes being more reactive than active:
<https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33317833/>


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