Substantial Relationism:
The Ontology of Behavior from the Perspective of Radical Behaviorism
Keywords:
Radical behaviorism, Skinner, Behavior, Ontology, Relationism, SubstanceAbstract
Influenced by pragmatism and pepperian contextualism, some behavior analysts have denied any ontological
assumption concerning substance to radical behaviorism. As a result, a radical version of relationism is defended in which the
only property relevant to the existence of behavior is the very relation that defines it. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the
pertinence of that position. Three questions will guide our analysis: (1) Why is substance not important to radical behaviorism?;
(2) Why is substance important to radical behaviorism?, and (3) What is, in fact, the ontological attitude more consistent with
radical behaviorism? It is argued that extreme relationism does not accurately reflect radical behavioristic ontology and it is
suggested that substantial relationism is a more coherent position.
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References
Abib, J. A. D. (2001). Arqueologia do behaviorismo radical
e o conceito de mente. In H. J. Guilhardi (Ed.), Sobre
comportamento e cognição (pp. 20-35). Santo André: Esetec
Ed. Associados.
Abib, J. A. D. (2004). O que é comportamentalismo? In M. Zilah, et
al. (Ed.), Sobre comportamento e cognição (pp. 52-61). Santo
André : Esetec Ed. Associados.
Barnes, D., & Roche, B. (1994). Mechanistic ontology and
contextualistic epistemology: a contradiction within behavior
analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 17(1), 165-168.
Barnes, D., & Roche, B. (1997). A behavior-analytic approach to
behavioral reflexivity. Psychological Record, 47(4), 543-572.
Barnes-Holmes, D. (2000). Behavioral pragmatism: no place for
reality and truth. The Behavior Analyst, 23(2), 191-202.
Barnes-Holmes, D. (2005). Behavioral pragmatism is a-ontological,
not antirealist: a reply to Tonneau. Behavior and Philosophy,
33, 67-79.
Baum, W. M. (1999). Compreender o behaviorismo: ciência,
comportamento e cultura (M. Silva, Trad.). Porto Alegre:
Artmed Editora (Trabalho original publicado em 1994).
Bjork, D. (1993). B. F. Skinner: a life. New York: Basic Books.
Carrara, K. (2005). Behaviorismo radical: crítica e metacrítica (2.
ed). São Paulo: Editora Unesp.
Carvalho Neto, M. B. (2001). B. F. Skinner e as explicações
mentalistas para o comportamento: uma análise históricoconceitual
(1931-1959). Tese de Doutorado, Universidade de
São Paulo, São Paulo.
Chiesa, M. (1994). Radical behaviorism: the philosophy and the
science. Boston: Authors Cooperative, Inc., Publishers.
Churchland, P. S. (1986). Neurophilosophy: toward a unified science
of mind-brain. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Day, W. (1992). On the difference between radical behaviorism and
methodological behaviorism. In S. Leigland (Ed.), Radical
behaviorism: Willard Day on psychology and philosophy (pp.
61-72). Nevada: Context Press (Trabalho original publicado
em 1983).
Descartes, R. (1984). Meditations on first philosophy and Objections
and replies. In J. Cottingham, R. Stoothoff, & D. Murdoch
(Eds.), The philosophical writings of Descartes (Vol. 2).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (Trabalho original
publicado em 1641).
Hamlyn, D. W. (1995). History of metaphysics. In T. Honderich
(Ed.), The Oxford Companion to Philosophy (pp. 556-559).
New York: Oxford University Press.
Hayes, L. J. (1997). Scientific knowing in psychological perspective.
In L. J. Hayes, & P. M. Ghezzi (Eds.), Investigations in
behavioral epistemology (pp. 123-141). Nevada: Context Press.
Hayes, S. C., & Brownstein, A. J. (1986). Mentalism, Behavior-
Behavior Relations, and a Behavior-Analytic View of the
Purposes of Science. The Behavior Analyst, 9(2), 175-190.
Hempel, C. G. (2000). The logical analysis of psychology. In
R. Jeffrey (Org.), Carl G. Hempel: selected philosophical
essays (pp. 165-180) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
(Trabalho original publicado em 1935).
Hocutt, M. (1996). Behaviorism as opposition to cartersianism. In
W. O’Donohue, & R. F. Kitchener (Eds.), The Philosophy of
psychology (pp. 81-95). London: Sage Publications.
Inwagen, P. V. (2007). Metaphysics. Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/
metaphysics
Kitchener, R. F. (1977). Behavior and behaviorism. Behaviorism
5, 11”“71.
Krägeloh, C. U. (2006). Pragmatism and a-ontologicalism in a
science of behavior. The Behavior Analyst Today, 7(3), 325-
334.
Leigland, S. (1997). Systems and theories in behavior analytic
science: an overview of alternatives. In L. J. Hayes, & P. M.
Ghezzi (Eds.), Investigations in behavioral epistemology (pp.
11-31). Nevada: Context Press.
Leigland, S. (2004). Pragmatism and radical behaviorism: comments
on Malone (2001). Behavior and Philosophy, 32, 305-312.
Lowe, E. J. (1995). Ontology. In T. Honderich (Ed.), The Oxford
Companion to Philosophy (pp. 634-635). New York: Oxford
University Press.
Moore, J. (1980). On behaviorism and private events. The
Psychological Record, 30, 459-475.
Moore, J. (1981). On mentalism, methodological behaviorism, and
radical behaviorism. Behaviorism, 9, 55-67.
Moore, J. (1984). On behaviorism, knowledge, and causal
explanation. Psychological Record, 34, 73-97.
Moore, J. (1994). On introspections and verbal reports. In S. Hayes,
L. Hayes, M. Sato, & K. Ono (Eds.), Behavior analysis of
language and cognition (pp. 281-299). Nevada: Context Press.
Moore, J. (1999). The basic principles of behaviorism. In B. A.
Thyer (Ed.), The philosophical legacy of behaviorism (pp.
41-68). London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Moore, J. (2008). Conceptual foundations of radical behaviorism.
New York: Sloan Publishing.
Moore, J. (2010). Behaviorism and the stages of scientific activity.
The Behavior Analyst, 33, 47-63.
Moxley, R. A. (2001a). The modern/postmodern context of
Skinner’s selectionist turn in 1945. Behavior and Philosophy,
29, 121-153.
Moxley, R. A. (2001b). Sources for Skinner’s pragmatic selectionism
in 1945. The Behavior Analyst, 24(2), 201-212.
Moxley, R. A. (2002a). Some more similarities between Peirce and
Skinner. The Behavior Analyst, 25(2), 201-214.
Moxley, R. A. (2002b). The selectionist meaning of C. S. Peirce
and B. F. Skinner. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 18, 71-91.
Moxley, R. A. (2004). Pragmatic selectionism: the philosophy of
behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst Today, 5(1), 108-125.
Reese, H. W. (1996). How is physiology relevant to behavior
analysis? The Behavior Analyst, 19(1), 61-70.
Robinson, H. (2009). Substance. Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/
substance
Schnaitter, R. (1984). Skinner on the “mental” and the “physcial”.
Behaviorism, 12(1), 1-14.
Skinner, B. F. (1954). Critique of psychoanalytic concepts and
theories. The Scientific Monthly, 79(5), 300-305.
Skinner, B. F. (1961a). The concept of reflex in the description of
behavior. In B. F. Skinner (Ed.), Cumulative record: a selection
of papers (2ª ed., pp. 319-346). New York: Appleton-Century-
Crofts. (Trabalho original publicado em 1931).
Skinner, B. F. (1961b). The generic nature of the concepts of
stimulus and response. In B. F. Skinner (Ed.), Cumulative
record: a selection of papers (2ª ed., pp. 347-366). New York:
Appleton-Century-Crofts. (Trabalho original publicado em
1935).
Skinner, B. F. (1961c). The operational analysis of psychological
terms. In B. F. Skinner (Ed.), Cumulative record: a selection
of papers (2ª ed., pp. 272-286). New York: Appleton-Century-
Crofts (Trabalho original publicado em 1945).
Skinner, B. F. (1961d). What is psychotic behavior? In B. F. Skinner
(Ed.), Cumulative record: a selection of papers (2ª ed., pp. 202-
219). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts (Trabalho original
publicado em 1956).
Skinner, B. F. (1963). Behaviorism at fifty. Science, New Series,
140(3570), 951-958.
Skinner, B. F. (1965). Science and human behavior. New York: The
Free Press (Trabalho original publicado em 1953).
Skinner, B. F. (1966a). The behavior of organisms: an experimental
analysis. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofs (Trabalho
original publicado em 1938).
Skinner, B. F. (1966b). What is the experimental analysis of
behavior? Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior,
9(3), 213-218.
Skinner, B. F. (1967). The problem of consciousness ”“ a debate.
Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 27(3), 325-337.
Skinner, B. F. (1969a). Contingencies of reinforcement: a theoretical
analysis. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Skinner, B. F. (1969b). The machine that is man. Psychology Today,
2, 20-25, 60-63.
Skinner, B. F. (1974). About behaviorism. New York: Alfred A.
Knopf.
Skinner, B. F. (1975). The steep and thorny way to a science of
behavior. American Psychologist, 30(1), 42-49.
Skinner, B. F. (1979). The shaping of a behaviorist: part two of an
autobiography. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Skinner, B. F. (1981). Selection by consequences. Science, New
Series, 213(4507), 501-504.
Skinner, B. F. (1983). Can the experimental analysis of behavior
rescue psychology? The Behavior Analyst, 6, 9-17.
Skinner, B. F. (1985). Cognitive science and behaviourism. British
Journal of Psychology, 76, 291-301.
Skinner, B. F. (1987). Whatever happened to psychology as the
science of behavior? American Psychologist, 42(8), 780-786.
Skinner, B. F. (1988). In A. C. Catania, & S. Harnad (Eds.),
The selection of behavior: the operant behaviorism of B. F.
Skinner: comments and consequences. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Skinner, B. F. (1990). Can psychology be a science of mind?
American Psychologist, 45(11), 1206-1210.
Smith, L. D. (1986). Behaviorism and logical positivism: a
reassessment of the alliance. Stanford: Stanford University
Press.
Smith, L. D. (1992). On prediction and control: B. F. Skinner and
the technological ideal of science. American Psychologist,
47(2), 216-223.
Tonneau, F. (2005a). Antirealist arguments in behavior analysis.
Behavior and Philosophy, 33, 55-65.
Tonneau, F. (2005b). Behavior analysis, common sense, and logic:
reply to Barnes-Holmes. Behavior and Philosophy, 33, 81-84.
Zilio, D. (2009). A natureza comportamental da mente: behaviorismo
radical e filosofia da mente. Dissertação de Mestrado,
Universidade Estadual Paulista ”“ UNESP, Marília.
Zilio, D. (2010). Fisicalismo na filosofia da mente: definição,
estratégias e problemas. Ciências & Cognição, 15(1), 217-240.
Zuriff, G. E. (1975). Where is the agent in behavior? Behaviorism,
3(1), 1-21.
Zuriff, G. E. (1980). Radical behaviorist epistemology. Psychological
Bulletin, 87(2), 337-350.
Zuriff, G. E. (1985). Behaviorism: a conceptual reconstruction.
New York: Columbia University Press.
Zuriff, G. E. (1995). A review of Baum’s Understanding
Behaviorism: Science, Behavior, and Culture. The Behavior
Analyst, 18(2), 395-400
Zuriff, G. E. (2003). Science and human behavior, dualism, and
conceptual modification. Journal of the Experimental Analysis
of Behavior, 80(3), 345-352.
e o conceito de mente. In H. J. Guilhardi (Ed.), Sobre
comportamento e cognição (pp. 20-35). Santo André: Esetec
Ed. Associados.
Abib, J. A. D. (2004). O que é comportamentalismo? In M. Zilah, et
al. (Ed.), Sobre comportamento e cognição (pp. 52-61). Santo
André : Esetec Ed. Associados.
Barnes, D., & Roche, B. (1994). Mechanistic ontology and
contextualistic epistemology: a contradiction within behavior
analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 17(1), 165-168.
Barnes, D., & Roche, B. (1997). A behavior-analytic approach to
behavioral reflexivity. Psychological Record, 47(4), 543-572.
Barnes-Holmes, D. (2000). Behavioral pragmatism: no place for
reality and truth. The Behavior Analyst, 23(2), 191-202.
Barnes-Holmes, D. (2005). Behavioral pragmatism is a-ontological,
not antirealist: a reply to Tonneau. Behavior and Philosophy,
33, 67-79.
Baum, W. M. (1999). Compreender o behaviorismo: ciência,
comportamento e cultura (M. Silva, Trad.). Porto Alegre:
Artmed Editora (Trabalho original publicado em 1994).
Bjork, D. (1993). B. F. Skinner: a life. New York: Basic Books.
Carrara, K. (2005). Behaviorismo radical: crítica e metacrítica (2.
ed). São Paulo: Editora Unesp.
Carvalho Neto, M. B. (2001). B. F. Skinner e as explicações
mentalistas para o comportamento: uma análise históricoconceitual
(1931-1959). Tese de Doutorado, Universidade de
São Paulo, São Paulo.
Chiesa, M. (1994). Radical behaviorism: the philosophy and the
science. Boston: Authors Cooperative, Inc., Publishers.
Churchland, P. S. (1986). Neurophilosophy: toward a unified science
of mind-brain. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Day, W. (1992). On the difference between radical behaviorism and
methodological behaviorism. In S. Leigland (Ed.), Radical
behaviorism: Willard Day on psychology and philosophy (pp.
61-72). Nevada: Context Press (Trabalho original publicado
em 1983).
Descartes, R. (1984). Meditations on first philosophy and Objections
and replies. In J. Cottingham, R. Stoothoff, & D. Murdoch
(Eds.), The philosophical writings of Descartes (Vol. 2).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (Trabalho original
publicado em 1641).
Hamlyn, D. W. (1995). History of metaphysics. In T. Honderich
(Ed.), The Oxford Companion to Philosophy (pp. 556-559).
New York: Oxford University Press.
Hayes, L. J. (1997). Scientific knowing in psychological perspective.
In L. J. Hayes, & P. M. Ghezzi (Eds.), Investigations in
behavioral epistemology (pp. 123-141). Nevada: Context Press.
Hayes, S. C., & Brownstein, A. J. (1986). Mentalism, Behavior-
Behavior Relations, and a Behavior-Analytic View of the
Purposes of Science. The Behavior Analyst, 9(2), 175-190.
Hempel, C. G. (2000). The logical analysis of psychology. In
R. Jeffrey (Org.), Carl G. Hempel: selected philosophical
essays (pp. 165-180) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
(Trabalho original publicado em 1935).
Hocutt, M. (1996). Behaviorism as opposition to cartersianism. In
W. O’Donohue, & R. F. Kitchener (Eds.), The Philosophy of
psychology (pp. 81-95). London: Sage Publications.
Inwagen, P. V. (2007). Metaphysics. Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/
metaphysics
Kitchener, R. F. (1977). Behavior and behaviorism. Behaviorism
5, 11”“71.
Krägeloh, C. U. (2006). Pragmatism and a-ontologicalism in a
science of behavior. The Behavior Analyst Today, 7(3), 325-
334.
Leigland, S. (1997). Systems and theories in behavior analytic
science: an overview of alternatives. In L. J. Hayes, & P. M.
Ghezzi (Eds.), Investigations in behavioral epistemology (pp.
11-31). Nevada: Context Press.
Leigland, S. (2004). Pragmatism and radical behaviorism: comments
on Malone (2001). Behavior and Philosophy, 32, 305-312.
Lowe, E. J. (1995). Ontology. In T. Honderich (Ed.), The Oxford
Companion to Philosophy (pp. 634-635). New York: Oxford
University Press.
Moore, J. (1980). On behaviorism and private events. The
Psychological Record, 30, 459-475.
Moore, J. (1981). On mentalism, methodological behaviorism, and
radical behaviorism. Behaviorism, 9, 55-67.
Moore, J. (1984). On behaviorism, knowledge, and causal
explanation. Psychological Record, 34, 73-97.
Moore, J. (1994). On introspections and verbal reports. In S. Hayes,
L. Hayes, M. Sato, & K. Ono (Eds.), Behavior analysis of
language and cognition (pp. 281-299). Nevada: Context Press.
Moore, J. (1999). The basic principles of behaviorism. In B. A.
Thyer (Ed.), The philosophical legacy of behaviorism (pp.
41-68). London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Moore, J. (2008). Conceptual foundations of radical behaviorism.
New York: Sloan Publishing.
Moore, J. (2010). Behaviorism and the stages of scientific activity.
The Behavior Analyst, 33, 47-63.
Moxley, R. A. (2001a). The modern/postmodern context of
Skinner’s selectionist turn in 1945. Behavior and Philosophy,
29, 121-153.
Moxley, R. A. (2001b). Sources for Skinner’s pragmatic selectionism
in 1945. The Behavior Analyst, 24(2), 201-212.
Moxley, R. A. (2002a). Some more similarities between Peirce and
Skinner. The Behavior Analyst, 25(2), 201-214.
Moxley, R. A. (2002b). The selectionist meaning of C. S. Peirce
and B. F. Skinner. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 18, 71-91.
Moxley, R. A. (2004). Pragmatic selectionism: the philosophy of
behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst Today, 5(1), 108-125.
Reese, H. W. (1996). How is physiology relevant to behavior
analysis? The Behavior Analyst, 19(1), 61-70.
Robinson, H. (2009). Substance. Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/
substance
Schnaitter, R. (1984). Skinner on the “mental” and the “physcial”.
Behaviorism, 12(1), 1-14.
Skinner, B. F. (1954). Critique of psychoanalytic concepts and
theories. The Scientific Monthly, 79(5), 300-305.
Skinner, B. F. (1961a). The concept of reflex in the description of
behavior. In B. F. Skinner (Ed.), Cumulative record: a selection
of papers (2ª ed., pp. 319-346). New York: Appleton-Century-
Crofts. (Trabalho original publicado em 1931).
Skinner, B. F. (1961b). The generic nature of the concepts of
stimulus and response. In B. F. Skinner (Ed.), Cumulative
record: a selection of papers (2ª ed., pp. 347-366). New York:
Appleton-Century-Crofts. (Trabalho original publicado em
1935).
Skinner, B. F. (1961c). The operational analysis of psychological
terms. In B. F. Skinner (Ed.), Cumulative record: a selection
of papers (2ª ed., pp. 272-286). New York: Appleton-Century-
Crofts (Trabalho original publicado em 1945).
Skinner, B. F. (1961d). What is psychotic behavior? In B. F. Skinner
(Ed.), Cumulative record: a selection of papers (2ª ed., pp. 202-
219). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts (Trabalho original
publicado em 1956).
Skinner, B. F. (1963). Behaviorism at fifty. Science, New Series,
140(3570), 951-958.
Skinner, B. F. (1965). Science and human behavior. New York: The
Free Press (Trabalho original publicado em 1953).
Skinner, B. F. (1966a). The behavior of organisms: an experimental
analysis. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofs (Trabalho
original publicado em 1938).
Skinner, B. F. (1966b). What is the experimental analysis of
behavior? Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior,
9(3), 213-218.
Skinner, B. F. (1967). The problem of consciousness ”“ a debate.
Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 27(3), 325-337.
Skinner, B. F. (1969a). Contingencies of reinforcement: a theoretical
analysis. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Skinner, B. F. (1969b). The machine that is man. Psychology Today,
2, 20-25, 60-63.
Skinner, B. F. (1974). About behaviorism. New York: Alfred A.
Knopf.
Skinner, B. F. (1975). The steep and thorny way to a science of
behavior. American Psychologist, 30(1), 42-49.
Skinner, B. F. (1979). The shaping of a behaviorist: part two of an
autobiography. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Skinner, B. F. (1981). Selection by consequences. Science, New
Series, 213(4507), 501-504.
Skinner, B. F. (1983). Can the experimental analysis of behavior
rescue psychology? The Behavior Analyst, 6, 9-17.
Skinner, B. F. (1985). Cognitive science and behaviourism. British
Journal of Psychology, 76, 291-301.
Skinner, B. F. (1987). Whatever happened to psychology as the
science of behavior? American Psychologist, 42(8), 780-786.
Skinner, B. F. (1988). In A. C. Catania, & S. Harnad (Eds.),
The selection of behavior: the operant behaviorism of B. F.
Skinner: comments and consequences. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Skinner, B. F. (1990). Can psychology be a science of mind?
American Psychologist, 45(11), 1206-1210.
Smith, L. D. (1986). Behaviorism and logical positivism: a
reassessment of the alliance. Stanford: Stanford University
Press.
Smith, L. D. (1992). On prediction and control: B. F. Skinner and
the technological ideal of science. American Psychologist,
47(2), 216-223.
Tonneau, F. (2005a). Antirealist arguments in behavior analysis.
Behavior and Philosophy, 33, 55-65.
Tonneau, F. (2005b). Behavior analysis, common sense, and logic:
reply to Barnes-Holmes. Behavior and Philosophy, 33, 81-84.
Zilio, D. (2009). A natureza comportamental da mente: behaviorismo
radical e filosofia da mente. Dissertação de Mestrado,
Universidade Estadual Paulista ”“ UNESP, Marília.
Zilio, D. (2010). Fisicalismo na filosofia da mente: definição,
estratégias e problemas. Ciências & Cognição, 15(1), 217-240.
Zuriff, G. E. (1975). Where is the agent in behavior? Behaviorism,
3(1), 1-21.
Zuriff, G. E. (1980). Radical behaviorist epistemology. Psychological
Bulletin, 87(2), 337-350.
Zuriff, G. E. (1985). Behaviorism: a conceptual reconstruction.
New York: Columbia University Press.
Zuriff, G. E. (1995). A review of Baum’s Understanding
Behaviorism: Science, Behavior, and Culture. The Behavior
Analyst, 18(2), 395-400
Zuriff, G. E. (2003). Science and human behavior, dualism, and
conceptual modification. Journal of the Experimental Analysis
of Behavior, 80(3), 345-352.
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Published
2012-04-03
How to Cite
Zilio, D. (2012). Substantial Relationism:: The Ontology of Behavior from the Perspective of Radical Behaviorism. Psicologia: Teoria E Pesquisa, 28(1), 109–118. Retrieved from https://periodicos.unb.br/index.php/revistaptp/article/view/17559
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