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B. F. Skinner

B. F. Skinner Quotes

Psychologist

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Famous B. F. Skinner Quotes

“To say that a man is sinful because he sins is to give an operational definition of sin. To say that he sins because he is sinful is to trace his behavior to a supposed inner trait. But whether or not a person engages in the kind of behavior called sinful depends upon circumstances which are not mentioned in either question. The sin assigned as an inner possession (the sin a person "knows") is to be found in a history of reinforcement.”

KnowsMenGivingKindPersonsFoundSinDependsCircumstancesBehaviorDefinitionsPossessionFree WillTraitsReinforcement
Author:B. F. Skinner
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“Fame is also won at the expense of others. Even the well-deserved honors of the scientist or man of learning are unfair to many persons of equal achievements who get none. When one man gets a place in the sun, the others are put in a denser shade. From the point of view of the whole group there's no gain whatsoever, and perhaps a loss.”

MenWellsPersonsWholeLossViewsSunGroupsHonorFameEqualAchievementGainsScientistPoint Of ViewExpensesOne ManShadeUnfair
Book:WALDEN TWO
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“In the traditional view, a person is free. He is autonomous in the sense that his behavior is uncaused. He can therefore be held responsible for what he does and justly punished if he offends. That view, together with its associated practices, must be re-examined when a scientific analysis reveals unsuspected controlling relations between behavior and environment.”

IfsPersonsDoeTogetherViewsPracticeEnvironmentBehaviorRelationResponsibleTraditionalAnalysisAutonomous
Author:B. F. Skinner
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“Any single historical event is too complex to be adequately known by anyone. It transcends all the intellectual capacities of men. Our practice is to wait until a sufficient number of details have been forgotten. Of course things seem simpler then! Our memories work that way; we retain the facts which are easiest to think about.”

ThinkingMenWayHas BeensFactsSeemsCoursesWaitingMemoriesNumbersKnownPracticeEventsIntellectualCapacityHistoricalComplexesForgottenDetailsSufficientOur MemoriesHistorical Events
Author:B. F. Skinner
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“Better contraceptives will control population only if people will use them. A nuclear holocaust can be prevented only if the conditions under which nations make war can be changed. The environment will continue to deteriorate until pollution practices are abandoned. We need to make vast changes in human behavior.”

PeopleIfsNeedsHumansArtWarPhilosophyUseNationsPracticeHistoryEnvironmentConditionsChangedBehaviorPopulationNuclearAbandonedHolocaustPollutionHuman BehaviorContraceptives
Author:B. F. Skinner
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“The severest trial of oppression is the constant outrage which one suffers at the thought of the oppressor. What Jesus discovered was how to avoid the inner devastations. His technique was to practice the opposite emotion... a man may not get his freedom or possessions back, but he's less miserable. It's a difficult lesson.”

MenMaySufferingJesusDifficultEmotionPracticeLessonsOppositesConstantPossessionTechniqueTrialsOppressionMiserableOutrageOppressorsDevastation
Author:B. F. Skinner
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“I've had only one idea in my life - a true idee fixe. To put it as bluntly as possible - the idea of having my own way. 'Control!' expresses it. The control of human behavior. In my early experimental days it was a frenzied, selfish desire to dominate. I remember the rage I used to feel when a prediction went awry. I could have shouted at the subjects of my experiments, 'Behave, damn you! Behave as you ought!”

WayFeelsHumansIdeasRememberUsedDesireMy OwnSubjectsOughtBehaviorRageSelfishExperimentsDamnBehavePredictionsHuman BehaviorDamn YouSelfish Desire
Author:B. F. Skinner
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