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Operant Conditioning and Teleology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2022

Douglas V. Porpora
Douglas V. Porpora*
Affiliation:
Temple University
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Abstract

This paper defends the relevance of Taylor's (1964) critique of S-R behaviorism to Skinner's model of operant conditioning. In particular, it is argued against Ringen (1976) that the model of operant conditioning is a nonteleological variety of explanation. Operant conditioning is shown unable, on this account, to provide a parsimonious and predictive explanation of the behavior of higher level organisms. Finally, it is shown that the principle of operant conditioning implicitly assumes a teleological capacity, the admission of which renders the principle of operant conditioning superfluous.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 47 , Issue 4 , December 1980 , pp. 568 - 582
Copyright
Copyright © 1980 by Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

†

I would like to thank the following members of the Sociology Department of Temple University for their comments on earlier drafts of this paper: Kyriakos Kontopoulos, John Houghton, Gary Klein and, especially, Lynne Kotranski. I would also like to express appreciation for the comments of an anonymous reviewer.

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