Skinner’s theory of Behaviorism and its implications on Philosophy

“We need never take recourse in any talk about mentalistic concepts such as intelligence, dreams, personality, virtues, memories, wishes or interests, because they can all be reduced to a person’s physical response to physical stimuli.”

This is an excerpt from Nina Rosenstand’s book, The Human Condition. This quote is in regards to the twentieth century behaviorist B.F. Skinner. As an unsatisfied graduate student at Harvard, Skinner explored the realms of Psychology and Physiology. Skinner explored these areas in an attempt to find an explanation for the behavior of man. Skinner dismissed the idea of personality because it lacked scientific definition.

In an attempt to provide scientific definition, Skinner offered the idea of operant conditioning. With this concept, Skinner explained that consequences of behavior are manipulated in order to increase or decrease that particular behavior in the future. With this concept, Skinner says to us that we are all organis...