For the Radical Behaviorist Biological Events Are Not Biological and Public Events Are Not Public
Year: 2003
Type: article
Abstract: I should declare at the outset that Dr. Moore is one my intellectual heroes.In fact, I recall well that it was only after reading his 1981 article, On Mentalism, Methodological Behaviorism, and Radical Behaviorism, that I became fully convinced of the value and importance of the philosophy of radical behaviorism and the science of behavior analysis.Not surprisingly, therefore, I find myself in broad agreement with his argument that a firm distinction should be made between radical behaviorism and what he labels logical behaviorism and conceptual analysis.Unlike these latter two intellectual traditions, the radical behaviorist does not assume that mentalistic terms must refer to events that are publicly observable, such as underlying physiological states, publicly observable behavior, or dispositions to engage in publicly observable behavior.Rather, the radical behaviorist approaches mentalistic terms in the same way as any other verbal behavior?byfocusing on the behavioral history and current conditions that give rise to the use of such terms within the verbal community, including the scientific community itself.From this perspective, therefore, the use of a mental term (i.e., a verbal response) may be under the control of public or private stimuli, and the role of the radical behaviorist is to analyze the historical and current behavioral contingencies that establish such verbal control.Only in so doing will the use of mental terms be understood from within the world-view of radical behaviorism.Although I find myself in general agreement with Moore's thesis, I would like to elaborate upon two of the key issues that arose in his article: (1) the role of physiological events in behavior analysis, and (2) the concept of the private event in radical behaviorism.In the first case, Moore discusses the problems inherent in treating private events as purely physiological, and I certainly agree with the points he makes in this regard.However, I think it should also be emphasized that the study of physiological events, per se, needs to be incorporated into the experimental analysis of behavior, not as underlying or explanatory mechanisms but as behavioral events in and of themselves.In the second case, Moore points out, "... the distinction between public and private events in behavior analysis is
Author: Yvonne Barnes‐Holmes
Institution: National University of Ireland, Maynooth
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2187190941