How Hume’s Philosophy Informed Radical Behaviorism

The present paper analyzes consistencies between the philosophical systems of David Hume and B. F. Skinner, focusing on their conceptualization of causality and attitudes about scientific behavior. The ideas that Hume initially advanced were further developed in Skinner’s writings and shaped the behavior-analytic approach to scientific behavior. Tracing Skinner’s logical antecedents allows for additional historical and philosophical clarity when examining the development of radical behaviorism.     

Merciful Justice

I offer a solution to an old puzzle about how God can be both just and merciful at the same time—a feat which seems required of God, but at the same time seems impossible since showing mercy involves being more lenient than justice demands. Inspired by two of Jesus’ parables and work by Feinberg, Johnson and Smart, I suggest that following a “principle of merciful justice”—that persons ought to receive what they deserve or better—delivers mercy and justice simultaneously, certainly in cases of distributions of goods, and even in cases of distribution of harms as well, if we can accept some qualifications.     

Visual analysis of data in a multielement design

Ninety Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) and 19 editorial board members evaluated hypothetical data presented in a multielement design. We manipulated the variability, trend, and mean shift of the data and asked the participants to determine if the data demonstrated experimental control. The results showed that variability, trend, and mean shift interacted to affect the participants’ ratings of experimental control. The level of agreement between participants was variable, but was generally lower than in previous research.     

Gender Representation in Television Commercials: Updating an Update

Sex Roles - We replicated the studies of O'Donnell and O'Donnell (1978) and Lovdal (1989) to analyze trends in gender representation in television commercials. A total of 757 commercials in...     

In Praise of Objective-Subjectivity: Teaching the Pursuit of Precision

Building upon aspects of Isreal Scheffler's philosophy, this essay takes up the search for forms of education that will lead to increased participation in a universal conversation in the making. In particular, it looks at how the rational passions may either enhance or impede the possibility of intelligible discourse between opponents. On the impediment side, the phenomenon of 'communicative isolation' is investigated, along with the nature of arrogant perception and the problematic role played by negative rational passions. The conclusion reached is one that advocates the cultivation of 'objective-subjectivity' – a practice that combines reflexivity and precise self-awareness with the conscious exercise of positive rational passions.