Quotes by B.F. Skinner

Promising paradise or threatening hell-fire is, we assumed, generally admitted to be unproductive. It is based upon a fundamental fraud which, when discovered, turns the individual against society and nourishes the very thing it tries to stamp out. What Jesus offered in return of loving ones enemies was heaven on earth, better known as peace of mind.

The severest trial of oppression is the constant outrage which one suffers at the thought of the oppressor. What Jesus discovered was how to avoid the inner devastations. His technique was to practice the opposite emotion... [a man] may not get his freedom or possessions back, but hes less miserable. Its a difficult lesson.

...not everyone is willing to defend a position of not knowing. There is no virtue in ignorance for its own sake.

Some of us learn control, more or less by accident. The rest of us go all our lives not even understanding how it is possible, and blaming our failure on being born the wrong way.

In a pre-scientific society the best the common man can do is pin his faith on a leader and give him his support, trusting in his benevolence against the misuse of the delegated power and in his wisdom to govern justly and make war successfully.

The tender sentiment of the one and only has less to do with constancy of heart than with singleness of opportunity.

Fame is also won at the expense of others. Even the well-deserved honors of the scientist or man of learning are unfair to many persons of equal achievements who get none. When one man gets a place in the sun, the others are put in a denser shade. From the point of view of the whole group theres no gain whatsoever, and perhaps a loss.

Severe punishment unquestionably has an immediate effect in reducing a tendency to act in a given way. This result is no doubt responsible for its widespread use. We instinctively attack anyone whose behavior displeases us - perhaps not in physical assault, but with criticism, disapproval, blame, or ridicule. Whether or not there is an inherited tendency to do this, the immediate effect of the practice is reinforcing enough to explain its currency. In the long run, however, punishment does not actually eliminate behavior from a repertoire, and its temporary achievement is obtained at tremendous cost in reducing the over-all efficiency and happiness of the group. (p. 190)

The most effective alternative process [to punishment] is probably extinction. This takes time but is much more rapid than allowing the response to be forgotten. The technique seems to be relatively free of objectionable by-products. We recommend it, for example when we suggest that a parent pay no attention to objectionable behavior on the part of his child. If the childs behavior is strong only because it has been reinforced by getting a rise out of the parent, it will disappear when this consequence is no longer forthcoming. (p. 192)

Something doing every minute may be a gesture of despair--or the height of a battle against boredom.

“A scientist may not be sure of the answer, but hes often sure he can find one. And thats a condition which is clearly not enjoyed by philosophy.”

“The consequences of an act affect the probability of its occurring again.”

“Once in a while a new government initiates a program to put power to better use, but its success or failure never really proves anything. In science, experiments are designed, checked, altered, repeated-- but not in politics... We have no real cumulative knowledge. History tells us nothing. Thats the tragedy of a political reformer.”