Dennett - Skinner Skinned

The concept that individuals have the power to make choices unconstrained by external determinants

The scientific study of behavior, often utilizing empirical methods to understand and predict human actions

A philosophical stance that attributes significance to mental states or processes, which Skinner critiqued as incompatible with scientific inquiry

The philosophical position that the mind and body are fundamentally distinct entities

A tautological explanation where an item is defined in terms of itself using different words

Skinner’s term referring to the autonomous, free-willed individual often depicted in literature, which he criticized as an ill-defined concept

Terms used by Skinner to describe what he perceived as unfounded beliefs in autonomous agency or supernatural forces influencing behavior

Skinner’s argument that science doesn’t dehumanize individuals but rather removes the concept of a controlling inner entity (homunculus)

Illustration of deterministic behavior in a system (the computer), likened to human behavior but without the need for mentalistic explanations

Expressions that attribute intentions or mental states to individuals, which Skinner and Quine advocated avoiding in psychological explanations

Skinner’s explanation that beliefs are constructed through reinforcement of behavior rather than through conscious mental processes

The shift from pre-scientific, intentional explanations of behavior to scientific, empirical approaches that Skinner emphasized as necessary for progress in psychology