1st Edition

B.F. Skinner A Reappraisal

By Marc N. Richelle Copyright 1993
256 Pages
by Psychology Press

256 Pages
by Psychology Press

B.F. Skinner died in August 1990. He had been praised as one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century, but was also attacked by a variety of opponents within and outside the field of psychology. This introduction to his work is first of all a guide to a correct reading of his writings, a reading devoid of the distortions and misinterpretations often conveyed by many commentators,... Read more
Part 1 Controversial issues and unquestionable contributions: a matter of controversy; sketch for a portrait; the Skinner box. Part 2 Skinner and the European tradition - Pavlov, Freud, Lorenz and Piaget: Pavlov's ambiguous heritage; Freud in Skinner's writings; Skinner and the ethological tradition; Piaget and Skinner - constructivism and behaviourism. Part 3 Touchstones of radical behaviourism: Skinner and biology; from mentalism to cognitivism; the language issue; thought processes and creativity. Part 4 The concern for real-life adventure in Utopia: mental health; education; society and Utopia; freedom at last.

Biography

Marc N. Richelle