Zuriff, G. E. (2005).
Behaviorism makes its debut: A review of Lattal and Chase’s Behavior Theory and Philosopy.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 83, 315-322.
Behavior Theory and Philosophy, masterfully edited by Lattal and Chase, is a
collection of 21 papers by major behaviorists, presented and discussed at a
conference on the intersection of philosophy and behavior analysis held at West
Virginia University in 2000. The chapters in Part I are devoted to philosophy
of science (causality, constructs, theory, explanation, reductionism) and the
relations among behavior analysis and several contemporary philosophical
movements (humanism, empiricism, pragmatism, selectionism, analytic philosophy).
Part II examines behavior-analytic interpretations of mentalistic concepts
(intention, imagination, ethics, cognition). Part III presents extensions and
applications of basic research in behavior analysis (verbal behavior,
creativity, development, education, disability, and corporate culture). The
publication of this book signals that behaviorism has developed mature
philosophical foundations.
Key words: behaviorism, philosophy, Skinner, experimental analysis of behavior,
applied behavior analysis, ethics