A variational approach to niche construction

Abstract

In evolutionary biology, niche construction is sometimes described as a genuine evolutionary process whereby organisms, through their activities and regulatory mechanisms, modify their environment such as to steer their own evolutionary trajectory, and that of other species. There is ongoing debate, however, on the extent to which niche construction ought to be considered a bona fide evolutionary force, on a par with natural selection. Recent formulations of the variational free-energy principle as applied to the life sciences describe the properties of living systems, and their selection in evolution, in terms of variational inference. We argue that niche construction can be described using a variational approach. We propose new arguments to support the niche construction perspective, and to extend the variational approach to niche construction to current perspectives in various scientific fields.

Free-energy minimization in joint agent-environment systems: A niche construction perspective

“…See Constant et al., (2018) for a more elaborate characterization of the relation between reproductive fitness and adaptive fitness.…”

An Investigation of the Free Energy Principle for Emotion Recognition

“…Not only do biological agents conform to the free energy principle but ensembles of biological agents-brought together in the same environment (a niche)-should obey the free energy principle, too Constant et al, 2018). A model of free energy optimization provides a useful insight into how priors may be formed through evolution and culture, furnishing a new perspective on the origin of different emotional priors across people (Box 3).…”

Active inference, stressors, and psychological trauma: A neuroethological model of (mal)adaptive explore-exploit dynamics in ecological context

“…for intense sound (which could be 'unlearned' during the individual lifespan). In terms of natural selection, a 'better safe than sorry' adaptation increases survival odds, and is relevant not only to subsequent reproduction but also to niche construction (Constant et al, 2018), which would conserve the adaptation (e.g., learning to avoid untraversed paths by inferring they are hostile territory, without confirmation). To take a related example, an unexpected intense sound would normally be attributed with high uncertainty to its specific source.…”