Reflections on Behaviorism and Society. Chapter 2: Are We Free to Have a Future? Quote 5

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Reflections on Behaviorism and Society. Chapter 2: Are We Free to Have a Future? Quote 5

Post author:B. F. Skinner Foundation
Post published:June 25, 2019
Post category:Skinner's Quote of the Day

“Final causes were soon ruled out of physics and eventually out of biology, but must we suppose that there is some way in which they function in the field of human behavior? The traditional answer is yes.” (p. 18)

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SKINNER'S QUOTE OF THE DAY

Verbal Behavior: Extended Edition. Chapter 8: The Verbal Operant as a Unit of Analysis. Quote 5
The pathological condition of verbal behavior called aphasia often emphasizes functional differences which are hard to understand in terms of the traditional account … The aphasic has lost some of the functional relationships which control his verbal behavior. A response of a given form may no longer be under the control of one functional relation, although it is still under the control of another. (p. 190)
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“Final causes were soon ruled out of physics and eventually out of biology, but must we suppose that there is some way in which they function in the field of human behavior? The traditional answer is yes.” (p. 18)

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