The Philosophical Legacy of Behaviorism

This work describe the contributions of a behavioural perspective to the major issues of philosophy. Leading behavioural philosophers and psychologists have contributed chapters on: the origins of behaviourism as a philosophy of science; the basic principles of behaviourism; ontology; epistemology; values and ethics; free will, determinism and self-control; and language and verbal behaviour. A concluding chapter provides an overview of some scholarly criticisms of behavioural philosophy. Far from espousing a "black box" perspective on human cognition and philosophical reasoning, behaviourism (as derived from the works of B. F. Skinner) represents a contemporary and viable approach to conceptualizing important philosophical and psychological issues.