A vast technology has been developed to prevent, reduce, or terminate exhausting labor and physical damage. It is now dedicated to the production of the most trivial conveniences and comfort.
B. F. SKINNERA 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.
More B. F. Skinner Quotes
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When we say that a man controls himself, we must specify who is controlling whom.
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The major difference between rats and people is that rats learn from experience.
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Those who have had anything useful to say have said it far too often, and those who have had nothing to say have been no more reticent.
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Somehow people get the idea I think we should be given gumdrops whenever we do anything of value.
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When we say that a man controls himself, we must specify who is controlling whom.
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We have seen that in certain respects operant reinforcement resembles the natural selection of evolutionary theory. Just as genetic characteristics which arise as mutations are selected or discarded by their consequences, so novel forms of behavior are selected or discarded through reinforcement.
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A disappointment is not generally an oversight. It might just be the best one can do the situation being what it is. The genuine error is to quit attempting.
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Your liberals and radicals all want to govern. They want to try it their way- to show that people will be happier if the power is wielded in a different way or for different purposes. But how do they know? Have they ever tried it? No, it’s merely their guess.
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No one asks how to motivate a baby. A baby naturally explores everything it can get at, unless restraining forces have already been at work. And this tendency doesn’t die out, it’s wiped out.
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If you’re old, don’t try to change yourself, change your environment.
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A first principle not formally recognized by scientific methodologists: when you run into something interesting, drop everything else and study it.
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The one fact that I would cry form every housetop is this: the Good Life is waiting for us – here and now.
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An important fact about verbal behavior is that speaker and listener may reside within the same skin.
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If freedom is a requisite for human happiness, then all that’s necessary is to provide the illusion of freedom.
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A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.
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