B. F. Skinner
B. F. Skinner
Burrhus Frederic Skinner, commonly known as B. F. Skinner, was an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social philosopher. He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth20 March 1904
CitySusquehana Depot, PA
CountryUnited States of America
B. F. Skinner quotes about
numbers balance world
If the world is to save any part of its resources for the future, it must reduce not only consumption but the number of consumers.
education honesty intellectual
Science, not religion, has taught me my most useful values, among them intellectual honesty. It is better to go without answers than to accept those that merely resolve puzzlement.
education achievement speech
The human species took a crucial step forward when its vocal musculature came under operant control in the production of speech sounds. Indeed, it is possible that all the distinctive achievements of the species can be traced to that one genetic change.
running interesting firsts
A first principle not formally recognized by scientific methodologists: when you run into something interesting, drop everything else and study it.
hands people community
Society already possesses the psychological techniques needed to obtain universal observance of a code - a code which would guarantee the success of a community or state. The difficulty is that these techniques are in the hands of the wrong people-or, rather, there aren't any right people.
jesus men opposites
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.
world violence looks
The world's a poor standard. any society which is free of hunger and violence looks bright against that background.
punishment doe tasks
Death does not trouble me. I have no fear of supernatural punishments, of course, nor could I enjoy an eternal life in which there would be nothing left for me to do, the task of living having been accomplished.
men
When we say that a man controls himself, we must specify who is controlling whom.
individual
The mob rushes in where individuals fear to tread.
philosophy answers may
A scientist may not be sure of the answer, but he's often sure he can find one. And that's a condition which is clearly not enjoyed by philosophy.
men giving definitions
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.
boredom battle despair
Something doing every minute' may be a gesture of despair-or the height of a battle against boredom.
mean people admire
We admire people to the extent that we cannot explain what they do, and the word 'admire' then means 'marvel at.'