Skinner’s Quote of the Day
Science and Human Behavior, Chapter 3: Why Organisms Behave, Quote 10
“It is no help to be told that to get an organism to drink we are simply to “make it thirsty” unless we are also told how this is to be done. When we have obtained the necessary prescription for thirst, the whole proposal is more complex than it need be. . . . The […]
Science and Human Behavior, Chapter 3: Why Organisms Behave, Quote 9
“The practice of looking inside the organism for an explanation of behavior has tended to obscure the variables which are immediately available for a scientific analysis. These variables lie outside the organism, in its immediate environment and in its environmental history.” (p. 31) Subscribe to RSS feed here
Science and Human Behavior, Chapter 3: Why Organisms Behave, Quote 8
“. . . such terms as “hunger,” “habit,” and “intelligence” convert what are essentially the properties of a process or relation into what appear to be things. Thus we are unprepared for the properties eventually to be discovered in the behavior itself and continue to look for something which may not exist.” (p. 31) Subscribe […]
Science and Human Behavior, Chapter 3: Why Organisms Behave, Quote 7
“But on analysis these phrases prove to be merely redundant descriptions. A single set of facts is described by the two statements: “He eats” and “He is hungry.” A single set of facts is described by the two statements: “He smokes a great deal” and “He has the smoking habit.” A single set of facts […]
Science and Human Behavior, Chapter 3: Why Organisms Behave, Quote 4
“Eventually a science of the nervous system based upon direct observation rather than inference will describe the neural states and events which immediately precede instances of behavior. We shall know the precise neurological conditions which immediately precede, say, the response, “No, thank you.” These events in turn will be found to be preceded by other […]
Science and Human Behavior, Chapter 3: Why Organisms Behave, Quote 3
“There is nothing wrong with an inner explanation as such, but events which are located inside a system are likely to be difficult to observe. For this reason we are encouraged to assign properties to them without justification. Worse still, we can invent causes of this sort without fear of contradiction.” (p. 27) Subscribe to […]
Science and Human Behavior, Chapter 3: Why Organisms Behave, Quote 2
“The most that can be said is that the knowledge of the genetic factor may enable us to make better use of other causes. If we know that an individual has certain inherent limitations, we may use our techniques of control more intelligently, but we cannot alter the genetic factor.” (p. 26) Subscribe to RSS […]
Science and Human Behavior, Chapter 3: Why Organisms Behave, Quote 1
“We want to know why men behave as they do. Any condition or event which can be shown to have an effect upon behavior must be taken into account. By discovering and analyzing these causes we can predict behavior; to the extent that we can manipulate them, we can control behavior.” (p. 23) Subscribe to […]
Science and Human Behavior, Chapter 2 A Science of Behavior?, Quote 11
“A science of behavior which concerns only the behavior of groups is not likely to be of help in our understanding of the particular case. But a science may also deal with the behavior of the individual, and its success in doing so must be evaluated in terms of its achievements rather than any a […]
Science and Human Behavior, Chapter 2 A Science of Behavior?, Quote 10
“A final answer to the problem of lawfulness is to be sought, not in the limits of any hypothetical mechanism within the organism, but in our ability to demonstrate lawfulness in the behavior of the organism as a whole. (p. 17) Subscribe to RSS feed here
Science and Human Behavior, Chapter 2 A Science of Behavior?, Quote 9
“It has sometimes been pointed out, for example, that physical science has been unable to maintain its philosophy of determinism, particularly at the subatomic level. The Principle of Indeterminacy states that there are circumstances under which the physicist cannot put himself in possession of all relevant information: if he chooses to observe one event, he […]
Science and Human Behavior, Chapter 2 A Science of Behavior?, Quote 8
“When a science of behavior reaches the point of dealing with lawful relationships, it meets the resistance of those who give their allegiance to prescientific or extrascientific conceptions. The resistance does not always take the form of an overt rejection of science. It may be transmuted into claims of limitations, often expressed in highly scientific […]
Science and Human Behavior, Chapter 2 A Science of Behavior?, Quote 7
“We all know thousands of facts about behavior. Actually there is no subject matter with which we could be better acquainted, for we are always in the presence of at least one behaving organism. But this familiarity is something of a disadvantage, for we have probably jumped to conclusions which will not be supported by […]
Science and Human Behavior, Chapter 2 A Science of Behavior?, Quote 6
“In a later stage science advances from the collection of rules or laws to larger systematic arrangements. Not only does it make statements about the world, it makes statements about statements. It sets up a “model” of its subject matter, which helps to generate new rules very much as the rules themselves generate new practices […]
Science and Human Behavior, Chapter 2 A Science of Behavior?, Quote 1
Science is first of all a set of attitudes. It is a disposition to deal with the facts rather than with what someone has said about them. Rejection of authority was the theme of the revival of learning, when men dedicated themselves to the study of “nature, not books.” (p. 12) Subscribe to […]
Science and Human Behavior, Chapter I Can Science Help?, Quote 5
“The Copernican theory of the solar system displaced man from his pre-eminent position at the center of things. Today we accept this theory without emotion, but originally it met with enormous resistance. Darwin challenged a practice of segregation in which man set himself firmly apart from the animals, and the bitter struggle which arose is […]
Science and Human Behavior, Chapter I Can Science Help?, Quote 4
“Science not only describes, it predicts. It deals not only with the past but with the future. Nor is prediction the last word: to the extent that relevant conditions can be altered, or otherwise controlled, the future can be controlled. If we are to use the methods of science in the field of human affairs, […]
Science and Human Behavior, Chapter I Can Science Help?, Quote 3
“Science is more than a description of events as they occur. It is an attempt to discover order, to show that certain events stand in lawful relations to other events. No practical technology can be based upon science until such relations have been discovered. But order is not only a possible end product; it is […]