Behaviorism

BEHAVIORISM- Corresponds in psychology to “Positivism” in philosophy. As Positivism reduces philosophy to the study of what is verifiable, Behaviorism reduces psychology to the study of observable behavior. Hence, what people normally think of as “choice” is reduced to neural responses produced by stimuli, and a person has no more “freedom of choice” than does a light bulb.

IN PRACTICE… we regard a person as MORE THAN a thing

              Requires a brain, but is MORE THAN a brain

                       MORE THAN a product of environment

                       MORE THAN a product of class identity (as in Marx)

                    MORE THAN a product of sexual drives (as in Freud)

                  MORE THAN= “Body Subject” (Phenomenology)

                                             “Soul” (Religion)

TO SPEAK MEANINGFULLY OF “EVIL” in human terms, it is necessary to regard a PERSON as an unconditional, irreducible reality that creates its own future by the choices it makes, except you can’t call it an “it”.