Opening Skinner’s Box: an Introduction

Behavior analysts have redefined the subject matter of psychology, redesigned the experiments used to study that subject matter, renamed almost every part of the world pertaining to that subject matter, and created specialized organizations and journals. It is not surprising, then, that only a happy few ever hear what behavior analysts say. One problem is that we need to publish outside of the box, so to speak. Preaching to the choir ensures that the products of our scientific behavior affect only a few people, limits the variety of reinforcers we are likely to encounter, and limits the likelihood that the products of our scientific behavior will reinforce the behavior of others. Publishing in a wider variety of outlets can lead to greater visibility for behavior-analytic research and practice, increase the impact of our published work, and build clout for scholars in colleges and universities.     

An Introduction to Nicolai Hartmann’s Critical Ontology

Nicolai Hartmann contributed significantly to the revitalization of the discipline of ontology in the early twentieth century. Developing a systematic, post-Kantian critical ontology ‘this side’ of idealism and realism, he subverted the widespread impression that philosophy must either exhaust itself in foundationalist epistemology or engage in system-building metaphysical excess. This essay provides an introduction to Hartmann’s approach in light of the recent translation of his early essay ‘How is Critical Ontology Possible?’ (1923) In it Hartmann criticizes both the pretensions of epistemology as well as the principal errors of classical ontology, and he proposes a series of correctives that lead to his development of a highly original and elaborate stratified categorial ontology. This introduction explains the most important errors of the ‘old’ ontology, his correctives to them, and further fleshes out these correctives with reference to his mature ontological work.     

Jung’s Axioms: An Introduction to Jung’s “Note on Number”

This article is an introduction to C. G. Jung’s handwritten note on natural numbers (in this issue), which became the basis of Marie-Louise von Franz’s book Number and Time. I present the historical background of Jung’s note and discuss part of its content using mostly Jung’s own words.     

Guest Editors’ Introduction

In spite of the widespread belief that there is (or at least there was) a clearcut and deep opposition between two forms of philosophizing vaguely characterized as 'continental' and 'analytic', it is not easy to find actual examples of debates between philosophers that clearly belong to the opposed camps. Perhaps the reason is that, on the assumption that the alleged 'divide' is so deep, each side feels that there is no point in arguing against the other, for argumentation would quickly be replaced by invective. In this paper I analyse one of the few recent examples of an across-divide debate m the Searle m Derrida polemic. Using a threefold typology of debates, I try to show that, in spite of the violent and sarcastic tone employed by both contenders, there is enough common ground, questioning of not-argued-for assumptions, and serious argumentation (on both sides) to consider this debate more than just an irrational dispute.     

An Introduction to Marie-Louise von Franz’s Number and Time

Number and Time: Reflections Leading toward the Unification of Depth Psychology and Physics, by Marie-Louise von Franz (1974 von Franz, M.-L. (1974). Number and time: Reflections leading toward the unification of depth psychology and physics (A. Dykes, Trans.). Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press. [Google Scholar]), explores parallels between the understanding of psychological healing in Jungian psychology and the theory of subatomic particles in quantum physics. Von Franz compares number symbolism in dreams with the mathematical structure of matter to link these two realms of life. The parallel role of numbers in the psyche and in matter is described to explain the interrelationship of our inner images and the outer world, as well to represent fundamental processes of personal development.