I read the Jerry Fodor "How the mind works: What we still don't know."
In response to Fodor's statement, "Chomsky's reply was, in essense, 'Don't be silly. Our behavior is characteristically caused by our mental states; therefore, a serious psychology must be a theory about what mental states exist and what roles they play in causing our behavior. You can put gas in the tank because you believe that, if you don't, the car will grind to a stop, and you don't want the car to do so. How could anyone sane believe otherwise?" My response: 1. Don't be silly Fodor. Skinner wrote an entire chapter on covert behavior (behaviors inside the skin) and verbal behavior (including internal statements to yourself). Please, scientifically defined these vague mental states that you mentioned--the vagueness is the heart of the issue, that is, the accessiblity of these mental states that you enjoy speculating about and passing these concepts off as science. You obviously have never read Skinner extensively and are basing your arguments on what Chomsky wrote. You mentioned Newtonian physics on p. 87; therefore, making a statement such as behavior is "caused by mental states" is inexcusable. After Newton, scientists slowed down the unfruitful practice of such ideas as claiming that oak wood burns hotter than pine wood because oakwood has more of the mental state called anger (or oakwood is a more angry wood; or the "essense" of oakwood is hotter). These mental states are just "essenses" of complex biological organisms and Newton challenged that unfruitful way of thinking. By the same token, scientists should not decribe the aggressive behaviors of an animals (human animals too) by statements of vague "anger" essenses but rather by explaining the phyiological phenomonon (through biology) and environmental context (through behavior analysis) which provokes or evokes that response. Your "gasoline" [mental state] is ill-defined, vague, and "explanatory fiction"--to borrow a Skinner term. 2. Skinner is not behavior analysis or behaviorism. He is just ONE of many behavior analysts. Skinner himself acknowledged this while he existed. He didn't even take credit for writing his own autobiography that was just a product of the organism called B.F. Skinner and the environment during his lifetime and environment that evolved life that led to this structure called B.F. Skinner; he (according to himself) had no choice writing his autobiography because he had no free will to do otherwise. To me, that is a statement of humility. Some people reject that statement because some of those people state if that is true, people will have not accountability or personal responsibility and the social fabric of society unravel. Consequences both postive and negative; both inside and outside the organism (not accountability or personal responsiblity) are more relevant to the control of behavior. 3. You should read some of Skinner's books and understand his arguments and data before you criticize those arguments and the data. Then you should re-read Chomsky's response to Skinner. Skinner is an empiricist with rational tendencies; Chomsky is a rationalist with a shaky empirical basis. I wasn't very impressed with his reasons nor his arguments nor his knowledge of Chomsky or Skinner. I would write more but lack the time. Jason On Jan 2, 10:42 am, Clogtowner <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi y'all - I've printed out the first paper and I'll try to read it > tonight and be there tomorrow. Hope you can make it Jason. > > On Jan 1, 9:59 pm, "Jason (Memphis)" <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > > > It is at the Starbucks by the Malco Theater on Germantown Parkway (N. > > 990 Germantown Pkwy, Cordova, TN) > > > On Jan 1, 8:47 pm, "Liz Purkrabek" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Where is the book club this Saturday, Jason? > > > > Liz > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: [email protected] > > > > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jason > > > (Memphis) > > > Sent: Thursday, January 01, 2009 8:06 PM > > > To: Memphis Freethought Alliance > > > Subject: Book Club This Saturday > > > > This Saturday and next Saturday, Chris wanted us to review the > > > following article. I will be heading back to Tennessee and am going > > > to TRY to make it for book club. If I don't, I definitely will send > > > Liz a happy birthday shout out! > > > > How the Mind Works > > > >www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/daed.2006.135.3.86 > > > > Section One: Mind and Will & Section Three: Science and the Cosmos > > > >www.infidels.org/library/modern/debates/great-debate.html > > > > Jason- Hide quoted text - > > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Memphis Freethought Alliance" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/memphisfreethoughtalliance?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
