The Recursive Feedback Loop: How We Are Shaped and How We Shape Ourselves

Introduction

Most people believe they freely choose their actions, but neuroscientific evidence conclusively shows our decisions are shaped before conscious awareness (Libet, 1985; Soon et al., 2008). Every action, habit, and belief emerges from biological and environmental inputs—a cycle starting long before we understand what choice even means.

This is the recursive feedback loop, where our environment, past experiences, and biology interact to shape who we are. Understanding this loop shows us how to influence our lives without relying on pure willpower.

What Is the Recursive Feedback Loop?

A recursive feedback loop is a continuous cycle:

• Past events influence current choices.

• Current choices shape future situations.

• Future situations influence new choices.

Consider learning a new skill. Initially, attempts are slow and full of errors. Each attempt helps your brain encode successful patterns and remove inefficient ones, improving your ability (Doidge, 2007).

Why Free Will Is an Illusion

Despite popular belief, evidence clearly shows we do not have true free will:

• Brain activity begins 300-500ms before we consciously decide (Libet, 1985).

• Brain scans can predict simple decisions 7-10 seconds before we’re aware of them (Soon et al., 2008).

• Even behaviors like kindness or cooperation have roots in our biology and evolutionary history (Sapolsky, 2018).

Choices emerge from:

• Genetics: Traits inherited from parents, influencing brain chemistry.

• Environment: Culture, upbringing, and resources.

• Habits: Learned behaviors shaped by feedback and reinforcement.

These factors limit choices but don’t completely fix them. Our sense of making free choices is a story our brains tell us afterward (Wegner, 2002).

How to Use the Feedback Loop Strategically

1. Understand Your Influences

• Identify key factors shaping your behaviors and beliefs:

  • Family, friends, education, media, and culture (Bronfenbrenner, 1979).

  • Genetic predispositions like impulsivity (Caspi & Moffitt, 2006).

2. Change Your Environment

• Alter your environment to support positive change through neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to reorganize itself:

  • Increase friction to reduce unwanted behaviors (e.g., using app blockers).

  • Reduce effort for positive behaviors (e.g., meal prepping) (Doidge, 2007).

3. Improve Through Small Steps

• Track behaviors and adjust based on feedback, rather than seeing outcomes as moral successes or failures:

  • Keep journals or use apps to track mood, health, or habits.

Ethical and Social Implications

Because actions are heavily influenced by biology and environment, punishing people harshly for their actions is unfair. Instead, societies should:

• Focus on prevention, such as better childhood support programs.

• Provide rehabilitation for those who struggle with issues like addiction.

• Reform social systems to reduce inequality and stress-driven behaviors (Sapolsky, 2018).

Final Thoughts

The recursive feedback loop shows “free will” is a myth. True power lies in influencing our conditions and environments, not in defying causality. Understanding this helps us live more compassionately and purposefully.

References

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to ChatGPT for assistance in writing and revising this blog post, and to Perplexity and Gemini for their support with research and citations.

• Libet, B. (1985). Unconscious cerebral initiative and the role of conscious will in voluntary action. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 8(4), 529-566.

• Soon, C. S., Brass, M., Heinze, H. J., & Haynes, J. D. (2008). Unconscious determinants of free decisions in the human brain. Nature Neuroscience, 11(5), 543-545.

• Sapolsky, R. M. (2018). Behave: The biology of humans at our best and worst. Penguin Press.

• Wegner, D. M. (2002). The illusion of conscious will. MIT Press.

• Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.

• Caspi, A., & Moffitt, T. E. (2006). Gene-environment interactions in psychiatry: Joining forces with neuroscience. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 7(8), 583-590.

• Doidge, N. (2007). The brain that changes itself: Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science. Viking.