C.I.M. Outline #48 THE BEHAVIORISM OF B.F. SKINNER I. INTRODUCTION A. The thought of men like Darwin, Marx, and Freud, changed the course of history. It is probable that some day Skinner's name will be added to this list. Carl Rogers said: "I believe that too few people are aware of the extent, the breadth and the depth of the advances which have been made in recent decades in the behavioral sciences. Still fewer seem to be aware of the profound social, educational, political, economic, ethical, and philosophical problems posed by these advances." B. Skinner's behavioral technology has been used to speed up animal learning, improve patient behavior in psychiatric wards, cure problems like bed-wetting and stuttering, and improve human learning ability. C. We should give attention to his thought because what he has said is controversial and is accompanied by powerful implications. 1. Skinner's thought is controversial because his ideas represent a major departure from Western thought. He says: "What is being abolished is autonomous man--the inner, the homunculus, the processing demon, the man defended by the literatures of freedom and dignity. His abolition has long been overdue. Autonomous man is a device used to explain what we cannot explain in any other way. He has been constructed from our ignorance, and as our understanding increases, the very stuff of which he is composed vanishes. Science does not dehumanize man, it dehomunculizes him. And it must do so if it is to prevent the abolition of the human species. To man qua man we readily say good riddance. Only by dispossessing him can we turn to the real causes of human behavior. Only then can we turn from the inferred to the observed, from the miraculous to the natural, from the inaccessible to the manipulable." (BEYOND FREEDOM AND DIGNITY, p.191). (see also the excellent review of his thought in TIME, Sept.20, 1971. "Panacea, or Path to Hell.") 2. Skinner's thought has powerful implications because he has a plan of action, a plan to apply his technique to large-scale management of society. (see his novel WALDEN II) 3. Skinner is most vulnerable philosophically because: a. His technique works. It therefore prompts us to ask philosophical questions. b. He invites philosophical criticism when he wrote: "behaviorism is not the science of human behavior; it is the philosophy of that science." (ABOUT BEHAVIORISM, p.3). c. His primary target in Beyond Freedom and Dignity and Dignity was C.S. Lewis' ABOLITION OF MAN. II. A BRIEF STATEMENT OF HIS VIEWS A. His definition of behavior: "Any action of the organism on the outside world, its movements and the effects of movement. Especially that which can be visually observed." (BEHAVIOR OF ORGANISMS, p, 8). B. Origin of behavior: All behavior originates outside of man. Man is a responder, a product of his environment and genetic inheritance. C. His technique: Known as "operant conditioning." Any behavior which is followed by a positive reinforcement is likely to be repeated. D. His purpose: not to understand man, but to predict and control his behavior. E. His goal: A utopian society brought about and maintained by behaviorist principles, i.e. survival of culture. III. ASSUMPTIONS THAT CONDITIONED HIS CONCLUSIONS A. His view of reality: A materialist. Matter and energy are the ultimate substances of reality. The mental is a manifestation of the material. B. His view of the origin of life: All life forms on earth are the result of chance processes active over long periods of time in which the simple gave rise to the complex. C. Determinism: All events (including the "brain events" we call "decisions") have physical causes, which if exactly repeated will produce the same results. D. Epistemology: Rigid empiricism. Seems to have been influenced a great deal by logical positivism. Truth is that which corresponds to reality as it is perceived by the senses. To Skinner, this is mainly vision. E. Summary: All the world is a box. No universals, only particulars. The universe is a closed system where every effect has a material cause. Illustration of the jig-saw puzzle: In life there are only pieces; no overall-big-picture, no set way the pieces fit together. III. THE CRITIQUE OF BEHAVIORISM A. Some behavior cannot be traced to physical reinforcement. 1. The placebo effect does not adequately explain the response in a pure material sense. 2. Modern brain research: Wilder Penfield. When patients were wired to electrodes they experienced two psychological states simultaneously; one which had occurred in the past. This suggests a mental awareness that transcends brain activity. Behaviorism cannot account for the observer. Penfield's research has been confirmed by other brain researchers such as Sir John Eccles, and Sir Charles Sherrington. 3. Gestalt psychology demonstrates through its research that there is something internal that manipulates stimuli input. These variables can be: memory, expectation, motivation, and attention. Skinner cannot adequately demonstrate that all mental events are indeed a product of the environment. 4. The theories of Noam Chomsky refute the behaviorist idea that language is a product of interaction with environment. 5. Albert Bandura's experiments show that people can learn by observation and not just experience and reinforcement. His study suggests the presence of symbolic processes that are present before any responses. B. Ethical Problems: 1. According to Skinner's naturalism and determinism what is is right. But Skinner is inconsistent since he calls some behavior "objectionable." On what basis? According to Skinner, behavior that enhances the survival value of a culture is good. Which culture? 2. If man is viewed as only an animal he is generally treated as one. (see THE DIFFERENCE IN MAN AND THE DIFFERENCE IT MAKES, by Mortimer Adler. 3. In his controlled society who will the controllers be? Carl Rogers says: "Who will be controlled? Who will exercise control? What type of control will be exercised? Most important of all, toward what end or what purpose, or in the pursuit of what value, will control be exercised? (from the symposium). C. Epistemological problems: If Skinner is right that all behavior is the product of past environment, then even Skinner's ideas are not based on truth but only on his past. Writing books like BEYOND FREEDOM AND DIGNITY implies meaningfulness of communication and setting forth a position like behaviorism implies that differing positions are wrong. But "meaningfulness" and "truth claims" cannot be observed. Skinner's rats have conditioned him as much as he has conditioned them. How can one design a culture when he himself is conditioned by one? D. Logical fallacies: Reductionism. Whatever the theory doesn't account for does not exist. "Whatever my net can't catch ain't fish." Since Skinner cannot "catch" freedom or dignity, mind, morals, reasoned thought, or God, he insists that none of these things exist. E. There is no place for a rebel in Skinner's ideal society. But rebels are what bring about the intellectual and moral growth of a society. F. Ideas from modern physics and parapsychology seem to stand in opposition to Skinner's theories. IV. SUMMARY The teachings of behavioral technology are a useful educational tool but must not become a tool of manipulation. We find fault with Skinner's starting point, i.e., his assumptions about God, man and his environment. Skinner is a good technician, but a poor philosopher. Skinner asks us to replace the myth of freedom and dignity for the myth of scientism (naturalism). V. CONCLUSION Getting back to freedom and dignity involves acceptance of an infinite reference point. FOR FURTHER STUDY: Adler, Mortimer J. THE DIFFERENCE IN MAN AND THE DIFFERENCE IT MAKES. New York: olt, Rinehart and Winston, 1967. Bandura, A. "Behavior Theory and the Models of Man," AMERICAN PSYCHIARTRIST, 1974, 29, 859-69. Bufford, Rodger K. THE HUMAN REFLEX. New York: Harper and Row, 1981. Carpenter, F. THE SKINNER PRIMER. New York: The Free Press, 1974. Chomsky, N. "Review of Verbal Behavior", LANGUAGE, 1959, 35, 26-58. Clark, Gordon H. BEHAVIORISM AND CHRISTIANITY. Jefferson, MD.: The Trinity Foundation, 1982. Cosgrove, Mark. B.F. SKINNER'S BEHAVIORISM: AN ANALYSIS. Grand Rapids, MI.: Zondervan, 1982. Cosgrove, Mark. THE ESSENCE OF HUMAN NATURE. Grand Rapids, MI.: Zondervan, 1977. Custance, Arthur C. THE MYSTERIOUS MIND OF MAN. Grand Rapids, MI.: Zondervan, 1980. Evans, Stephen C. PRESERVING THE PERSON. Downers Grove, IL.: Inter-varsity Press, 1977. Hilts, Philip J. BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION. New York: Harpers Magazine Press, 1974. Lewis. C.S. THE ABOLITION OF MAN. New York: MacMillan, 1947. Machan, Tibor R. THE PSEUDO-SCIENCE OF B.F. SKINNER. New Rochelle, NY.: Arlington House, 1974. Matson, Floyd W. THE BROKEN IMAGE. New York: Doubleday, 1964. Matson, Floyd W. THE IDEA OF MAN. New York: Delacorte, 1976. Popper, Karl R. and Eccles, John C. THE SELF AND ITS BRAIN. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1977. Rogers, Carl and Skinner, B.F. "Some issues concerning the control of human behavior," SCIENCE. 1956. 124, 1057-1066. Schaeffer, Francis A. BACK TO FREEDOM AND DIGNITY. Downers Grove, IL.: Inter-varsity Press, 1972. Skinner, B.F. ABOUT BEHAVIORISM. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1974. Skinner, B.F. BEYOND AND FREEDOM AND DIGNITY. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1971. TIME. Sept. 20, 1971. "Skinner's Utopia: Panacea, or Path to Hell." Christian Information Ministries is a non-profit ministry and is dependent on gifts from God's people in order to operate. If you receive a benefit from our materials would you consider giving a tax-deductible gift to CIM. We suggest $25. a year minimum. 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