Humanist profile."I would define a humanist as one of those who, because of the environment to which he has been exposed, is concerned for the future of mankind." --B. F. Skinner, from "Humanism and Behaviorism behaviorism, school of psychology which seeks to explain animal and human behavior entirely in terms of observable and measurable responses to environmental stimuli. Behaviorism was introduced (1913) by the American psychologist John B. " in the July/August 1972 issue of the Humanist. Behaviorist Behaviorist 1. One who accepts or assumes the theory of behaviorism (behavioral finance in investing.) 2. A psychologist who subscribes to behaviorism. Notes: When it comes to investing, people may not be as rational as they think. B. F. Skinner Noun 1. B. F. Skinner - United States psychologist and a leading proponent of behaviorism (1904-1990) Burrhus Frederic Skinner, Fred Skinner, Skinner , called "perhaps the most celebrated psychologist since Sigmund Freud," was born in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. A decided atheist at a very young age, he received a B.A. in English from Hamilton College Hamilton College, at Clinton, N.Y.; coeducational; founded 1793 by Samuel Kirkland as Hamilton-Oneida Academy, chartered 1812 as Hamilton College. It was named for Alexander Hamilton. Originally a men's college, the school began admitting women in 1979. in upstate New York Upstate New York is the region of New York State north of the core of the New York metropolitan area. It has a population of 7,121,911 out of New York State's total 18,976,457. Were it an independent state, it would be ranked 13th by population. , where he was required to attend chapel daily. He then earned a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Harvard University Harvard University, mainly at Cambridge, Mass., including Harvard College, the oldest American college. Harvard College Harvard College, originally for men, was founded in 1636 with a grant from the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. . Skinner devoted his life to the study of instrumental conditioning--later called Skinnerian conditioning--advancing research methodology by raising the standards for what was considered acceptable research within the field of psychology. In 1945 he was made chair of the psychology department at Indiana University. In 1948 he published his famous utopian novel, Walden Two, which depicts a society where social problems are solved through a technology of human behavior that renders many traditional values obsolete. In that same year, he returned to Harvard, where he became Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology and taught for the test of his life. In 1969 he wrote Contingencies in Reinforcement and two years later Beyond Freedom and Dignity, philosophical treatises which discuss determinism and responsibility. In 1972 Skinner was named the American Humanist Association's Humanist of the Year. He died August 18, 1990. HUMANISM is a rational philosophy informed by science, inspired by art, and motivated by compassion. Affirming the dignity of each human being, it supports the maximization of individual liberty and opportunity consonant with social and planetary responsibility. It advocates the extension of participatory democracy and the expansion of the open society, standing for human rights and social justice. Free of supernaturalism su·per·nat·u·ral·ism n. 1. The quality of being supernatural. 2. Belief in a supernatural agency that intervenes in the course of natural laws. , it recognizes human beings as a part of nature and holds that values--be they religious, ethical, social, or political--have their source in human nature, experience, and culture. Humanism thus derives the goals of life from human need and interest rather than from theological or ideological abstractions and asserts that humanity must take responsibility for its own destiny. |
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