Science and Philosophy of Behavior - Selected Papers

- Blurb -

Rediscover the science and philosophy of behaviorIn Science and Philosophy of Behavior: Selected Papers, distinguished researcher W. M. Baum delivers an expansive collection of incisive papers setting out a new paradigm of thinking about behavior. The book offers only articles that put forward a philosophical and theoretical framework for an effective natural science of behavior. Quantitative analysis is largely avoided (except for a paper on, of all things, avoidance). Organized into three parts, the author explains the flow-like nature of behavior and its link to evolution, as well as descriptions of a pure form of behaviorism that correct some flaws in B. F. Skinner' s seminal works. The book also links behaviorism to anthropology in its final section. Readers will also find:Fulsome descriptions of the molar nature of behavior and why the molecular view is misguidedRe-imaginations of the concept of reinforcement, including considerations of allocation, induction, and contingencyExplorations of the links between behavior analysis and Darwinian evolutionary processesAn essential critique-and reorganization-of behavior theory and philosophy, Science and Philosophy of Behavior: Selected Papers is a controversial, fascinating, and eye-opening journey through a half-century of transformational work in the field.