Exotic Journeys: A Tourist's Guide to Philosophy

brought to you by Ron Yezzi

Emeritus Professor of Philosophy

Minnesota State University, Mankato

© Copyright 1986, 2000, 2015 by Ron Yezzi

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Topics

B. F. Skinner

Innate Structure and Environmental Conditions

Pre-scientific and Scientific Views of Human Nature

Positive and Negative Reinforcement

Internal States vs. Observable Behavior

Application to a Problem

A Bright Future for Human Beings

Gerald Dworkin

Autonomy

Ethical Implications

Skinner and Dworkin: A Comparison

Controversies: Some Objections and Possible Replies

Thought Excursions

Skinner, Dworkin, and Aversive Conditioning

Sources

Author's Note: This account is an adaptation from Ron Yezzi, Directing Human Actions: Perspectives on Basic Ethical Issues (Lanham: University Press of America, 1986), pp. 149 163.

Human Nature:

Skinner and Dworkin

Sooner or later, in discussions of human nature, autonomy, or self-directedness, becomes an issue. Judgments about human beings’ capacity to be moral agents, responsible for their actions and possessive of a basic dignity, often turn upon resolution of the autonomy issue. Here we consider two positions, those of B. F. Skinner and Gerald Dworkin.

B. F. Skinner